Freedom Soul
by Trafalgar Neo
Summary: Curious, fun loving, and strong Selene had a goal in mind when she ran away from her family. But that plan didn't involve running into a former crush with funny eyebrows and a one-track mind captain who won't take no for an answer. Nor did it involve old feelings to come back even stronger than before. If only she had the time to stay with him a little longer.
1. A Dove & A Cook

A Dove & A Cook

Her breathing became labored. The world around her started to blur but she pushed on. Beating her wings in sync together as she flew over the sparkling waters below her, a fiery pinch stabbed through her left shoulder. She winced. Pulling in her wing, she dropped several feet before reopening her wing. The wind caught her and lifted her back into the sky. "Come on. You can do it. Just a little farther."

She looked around. No islands were anywhere near her. She chuckled humorlessly. "Well, that's great. How long have I been flying like this? I'm not sure how much longer I can endure this. If I pass out and fall into the sea I'm done for."

Her chest heaved up and down. Her feathers grew damp with sweat. She knew she had to land soon. But the unforgiving sea wasn't going to give up any islands or rock formations for her to take a break on. Then, a small dark spot appeared in the distance to her right. She angled towards it in hopes it was a small island or even just a simple rock formation she could rest on. The spot grew closer and closer. With each second the spot became clearer. The blackness of it turned to white and brown.

"Sails? A ship maybe?" she wondered. Drawing closer she found that it was indeed a ship sitting majestically on the sea. It's yellow and orange coloring a shining beacon to her tired body. It was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen. "Great. I can finally rest. I hope they're nice."

Her body grew heavier. Each flap of her wings took every last bit of her strength. She wasn't sure if she would make it to the ship or not. Her vision swayed making it difficult to navigate where she was going. The ship split into two. Blinking she tried to clear her eyesight so she could see where the ship really was. It didn't work. A simple guess angled her to her left. The ship grew bigger and bigger just as the world around her darkened. With one last stroke of her wings, searing hot pain shot through her shoulder. She cried out. Her eyes closed. She plummeted.

…

Sanji hummed to himself as he stirred up the ingredients to the crew's tangerine parfaits he was making. "My darling Nami and Robin around going to love this delicious dessert I'm making for them. Then they'll fall hopelessly in love with me!"

"Ah! I'm so bored!" Luffy shouted from out on the deck.

The door was open so Sanji could easily hear what was going on outside. He glanced over at it for a moment.

"Will you stop saying that?!" Nami growled. "We're sick of hearing it!"

"But I'm bored!" Luffy said.

"Then do something!" Nami said.

"I want to have fun! We need to go on an adventure!" Luffy whined.

Sanji sighed. "Well, I have to agree with that bonehead on this one. It has been rather boring here lately. Nothing's happened. Even the weather has been on the boring side of things. I wonder why? Usually when it gets like this something bad is going to happened." He grimaced. "We're going to end up in another fight. And it's going to be all Luffy's fault. I guess we should enjoy this lull while we can."

With another sigh, Sanji reached for the tangerine slices he was going to use to decorate the rim of the glasses. A loud thump out on the deck stopped him. "What the heck was that?"

Turning away from the counter, he stepped out of the kitchen and looked down. There on the deck was large white dove surrounded by his crewmates, but for Zoro. Sanji's eyes widened. The rainbow tear logo on her backpack was unmistakable. His cigarette dropped from his mouth when he saw her lying there unconscious on the ship he called his home. "It…it can't be."

"It just fell out of the sky," Usopp said.

"Let's eat it!" Luffy said, drool running down his chin.

"Is that all you think about?!" Usopp demanded.

"I don't think you want to eat this one, Luffy," Brook said.

"Why not?" Luffy asked.

"It appears this bird is really a human," Brook said.

The crew watched in silence as the dove's feathers faded away into pale colored skin, white haired young woman wearing a shoulder bag, black tank top and cut off blue jeans.

Pushing way from the railing, Sanji rushed to the stairs and sailed down them in two steps.

"She fell out of the sky? Off an island maybe?" Usopp shielded his eyes and looked up. "There're not even many clouds in the sky."  
"No, there's no islands like that around here," Nami said. She was also looking up to the sky.

"Even if there was there's no way anyone could survive a fall from one," Chopper said while checking the girl's pulse. "She's still alive."

"Maybe she was riding on a bird or something," Usopp offered.

"I suppose that's possible," Chopper said. "But she was a dove a second ago. So she has a devil fruit, a zoan type."

"Even with a devil fruit it would be a long flight out here," Franky said. "We haven't seen a ship or an island for days."

"Is she all right, Chopper?" Robin asked when blood started dripping out of the girl's nose. "Her nose is bleeding. And she looks a little thin."

Chopper hummed and ran his eyes over her body. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it to the girl's nose. "She does look a little under weight. She must have been alone for a long time. Altitude has an affect on getting a bloody nose. That's probably where that came from."

"You think she's an orphan?" Nami asked. "She looks about our age."

"Selene!" Sanji said. He dropped to his knees and lifted her into his arms. He scanned her face. "I don't believe it. It really is you. Are you okay? Wake up, please."

"You know her, Sanji?" Brook asked.

"Hey, what's going on down there?" Zoro asked from the crow's nest.

"Just shut up and go back to sleep. This doesn't concern you," Sanji said.

"You want to come up here and say that to my face, stupid cook?!" Zoro asked.

"A girl just fell out of the sky," Luffy said.

"A girl fell from the sky?" Zoro asked before jumping down to the deck. He landed on the deck with a heavy thump. "How is that possible? Did she fall from a sky island or something?"

"She was a dove a few seconds ago," Brook said. "She has a devil fruit apparently."

"I see," Zoro said looking down at the girl.

"How do you know her, Sanji?" Nami asked.

"She and her family use to stop all the time at the Baratie," Sanji said. He cupped her cheek, stroking his thumb over her skin. "But I haven't seen her in about four years. I have no idea what she's doing all the way out here."

"Do you know if she had a devil fruit power back then?" Nami asked.

"Not that I knew of," Sanji said. "But like I said I haven't seen her in years. She could have obtained one since then."

"Is she all right, Chopper?" Franky asked.

"I think so," Chopper said. He placed his stethoscope on her chest and listened to her heart. "I believe she's a bit dehydrated and needs a good meal and some rest. Her blood pressure is up but it think that's because she was flying. Despite that I think she's going to be fine. I'll know more once she wakes up."

"Huh?" Feeling something warm and sticky, Sanji pulled his hand away from her to find blood dotting his palm. "She's hurt!"

"Let me see." Chopper lifted her arm and found she indeed was bleeding. "It's nothing serious. She must have cut herself on the deck when she landed."

Sanji sighed with relief. "Thank God. Want me to carry her to your office?"

"That would be great. I need to bandage that wound," Chopper said. "Then when she wakes up can you make a good meal?"

"Sure thing." Sanji smiled. He slipped his arm under her knees and stood up. "Huh?"

"What is it, Sanji?" Usopp asked.

"She barely weights a hundred pounds," Sanji said looking down at her. He noticed her face was thin and tried to remember how she looked the last time he saw her. "Actually, I'd say she weights about eight five pounds or so."

"Maybe she has some medical issue that keeps her so thin," Chopper said.

"I wouldn't think so," Sanji said. "She has always been healthy. And had a real healthy appetite."

"Like you said you haven't seen her in a while. I'll ask her that once she wakes up," Chopper said.

Sanji nodded, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Hm? What's this?" Luffy asked.

"What's what?" Franky asked.

Sanji looked in time to see Luffy picked something off the deck. A tear shaped gem swung from the silver chain between his fingers. The sun reflected off of it, casting a ray of rainbows over the Sunny.

"Wow!" Luffy said.

"What is this?" Nami asked looking at the prism of rainbows that covered her body.

"I'm not sure," Robin said. Holding up her hand, a rainbow appeared on it. "But it is every lovely."

"Looks like the chain is broken," Usopp said noticing that the clasp was hanging loose from Luffy's fingers. "It must belong to her. None of us have something like that."

"Wow! It looks like it costs a fortune!" Nami cooed, her eyes shining with greed.

"Well, you can't have it!" Usopp said. "It's not yours! And don't you dare think of stealing it from her while she's unconscious!"

"How dare you?!" Nami snapped. "I would never!"

"Uh huh." Usopp rolled his eyes. "You've never stolen anything from an unconscious person before."

"Shut up!" Nami snapped. "She's a friend of Sanji's! I'm not going to steal from her!"

"We should probably fix it for her," Franky said eying the broken chain.

"Can you handle that, Franky?" Luffy asked.

"Sure. A little thing like this will be no problem at all." Franky took the necklace from his captain and disappeared into the ship.

"We should get her to my office now," Chopper said.

"Sure." Sanji nodded. Walking back up the stairs, he followed Chopper into the small doctor's room at the back of the ship. He placed her down on the bed. Shoving his hands into his pockets he continued to watch her sleep. His mind spun with worry. She shouldn't have been way out here on her own.

"Anything wrong, Sanji?" Chopper asked as he worked to disinfect the injuries and bandages them. "She's bleeding on both arms. I guess she hit really hard."

"No, nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?" Sanji turned to the doctor.

"I'm not sure. You just seem different for some reason," Chopper said finishing up the bandage on her left arm. "This is the first time I've seen you look at a woman and not go all crazy over her."

"Oh, that." Sanji smiled. "She's just a friend. Of course I find her beautiful, but I guess I'm more worried about her right now more than anything. I'm not myself."

"That's understandable. I'll do everything I can for her," Chopper said. "Her wounds don't look bad at all. She'll be fine."

"Great. Do you need anything else?" Sanji said.

"No, that'll be all," Chopper said.

"Come get me if anything changes with her," Sanji said.

"I will." Chopper nodded.

"All right then," Sanji said. "I guess I'll get back to the snacks I was making."

"Thanks, Sanji. I'll let you know when she starts to wake up," Chopper said.

Sanji nodded. He took one last look at his friend then left the room. He rounded the corner from Chopper's office. Pausing he looked out at the sea. The sun was sparkling on its blue surface. It was a beautiful sight. But his mind was with his friend inside Chopper's office. Something wasn't right. It didn't make sense that she was alone out here. Never has he ever seen her alone before. She was always with someone in her family. He pushed it aside and continued walking along the ship. He'd get his answers when she woke up. All he had to do was wait until then. He headed back into the kitchen and finished up the desserts he had almost forgotten.

…

Selene breathed in. The unmistakable smell of wood and sea salt was the first thing that told her she had made it to the ship. With another breath she also noticed the smell of medication and disinfectant. Her eyelids parted to her still blurry vision. Blinking the blurriness away she stared up at the wooden ceiling before bringing her eyes down to look around the room. A strange creature sat at a desk lined with books and medical supplies. It was writing something down on paper. Kneading her eyebrows she took a closer look at the creature. It had horns, a hat, and wore shorts. Never before had she seen an animal sitting at a desk and writing. "I must be dreaming. Or I'm hallucinating."

"Huh?" The creature turned to her. "Oh, you're awake." He slid off his chair and walked over to her. "How are you feeling?"

She turned her head more to her left to see the creature better. He had the most adorable blue nose. "I'm fine." Pushing up on her arms, she tried to sit up but pain shot through her left shoulder again causing her fall back on the pillow. "Okay, so maybe not all that fine."

"What hurts?" he asked.

"My shoulder," she said.

"Let me take a look." The creature reached up and pushed back her sleeve.

"Are you a doctor?" Selene asked. She inspected the bandages on her upper arms. "I got hurt?"

"I am." He nodded. "Your shoulder is a bit swollen. And I believe you got cuts on your arms when you landed on the deck. Is there any other symptoms, Selene?"

"No," Selene said.

"How long have you had this pain?" he asked.

"Oh, um, I'm not sure," Selene said. "A few days maybe? It's been off and on. But it's never hurt this bad until now."

"I see," he said. "It's possible that it's a stress facture then. How long have you been flying before you landed on our ship?"

"About a week," Selene said.

"A week? None stop?" He looked up at her.

"No, I've stopped here and there. It's just these past couple of days no ships or islands have appeared for me to land on," Selene said. "So I've been stuck flying without stopping anywhere."

"I see. Well, you should rest that shoulder for a few days before you take off again," he said.

"I'll rest when I find an island," Selene said. Sitting up she pushed the blanket off of her. Turning she placed her feet on the floor, eyeing her bag at the end of the bed.

"There's not going to be one around for a few more days," he said. "If you continue to flying with that injury you could cause problems that will need surgery."

"No! I can't have surgery! I have something I need to do!" She pushed herself to stand up. She wobbled. The room spun around her. She dropped back to the bed, placing her hands behind her to keep herself from falling over. "I have…I have to go."

"Calm down," he said. "You can rest on our ship."

"I can't. I mean I don't want put you out," Selene said. "I didn't mean to drop in on you. I just need a little time to rest then I'll be out of your way."

"You're not putting us out," he said. "My captain won't mind at all. And Sanji will be disappointed if you left without seeing him."

"Captain? Am I on a marine ship?" Selene looked around for any signs that might tell her who this ship really belonged to. "No, their ships aren't like this. What ship did I land on?"

"Oh, this is a pirate ship," he said.

"A pirate ship, huh? What luck," Selene mumbled.

"Don't worry," he said. "We're not going to hurt you. We're actually really nice compared to other pirates. Oh, by the way, my name is Tony Tony Chopper. But you can call me Chopper."

"I'm Selene." Selene took the creature's outstretch hoof. Her eyes ran over his small furry body again, trying to figure him out. She had to know what kind of animal he was. "Wait a second. You called me by my name a minute ago. How did you know it?"

"Sanji told us," Chopper said.

"Sanji? That's the second time you…" Selene's heart skipped a beat. "You don't mean Sanji…he has blonde hair, curly eyebrows, fights with his feet instead of his hands, works at the Baratie?!"

"That's him." Chopper smiled. "He no longer works at the Baratie. He joined our crew some time ago as the chef."

"I see," Selene said. "I thought he was still working there. I never would have guessed he'd leave to become a pirate of all things. Well, maybe not. He did tell me there was a reason he wanted to sail the seas. I guess being a pirate would help him reach that goal."

"So you know about his goal to reach the All Blue," Chopper said. "I'm not surprised. He's mentioned that before a couple of times."

"Oh, okay then. Uh, excuse my poor manners but what are you exactly?" Selene asked.

"I'm a reindeer," Chopper said.

"Oh, really? You're not like any reindeer I've seen before," Selene said. "I've never heard of a reindeer walking on its hide legs or having the ability to talk or having a blue nose."

"I ate the human human devil fruit," Chopper said. "So I look different and I can talk."

"I see," Selene said. "Well, if you don't mine me saying, you are very cute."

"Ah! Don't call me cute, you jerk!" Chopper blushed, wiggling his body.

Selene smiled, thinking he looked even cuter now. "So I'm guessing it's safe to assume that you saw my dove form? And know that I'm a devil fruit user?"

"We did." Chopper nodded.

"So what pirates are you?" Selene asked.

"We're the Straw Hat Pirates," Chopper said.

"Never heard of you," Selene said.

"Really?" Chopper asked.

"I don't pay much attention to pirates," Selene said. "Never had a reason to."

"Oh," Chopper said.

"So, can I leave this room or am I stuck in here?" Selene said.

"You're not stuck in here," Chopper said. He walked away, picked up some medicine and a glass of water from his desk then handed it to her. " Here some painkillers. They'll help your shoulder. And other than your shoulder you don't seem to be in any pain considering the fall you took. But since you were passed out your body was relaxed so you didn't get any serious injuries. You also ended up with a nosebleed while you were sleeping. Do you have medical issues I need to know about? You're rather under weight as well."

"Nosebleed, huh? I occasionally get those. And, no, I don't have any heal issues you need to worry about. Plus, I've always been this skinny," Selene said pressing her toes against the wood floor. She paused to take the medicine he gave her. "I guess I just have a high metabolism or something. Of course I haven't been eating much these past few days. So that hasn't helped anything. But I was going to fix that when I got to the next island."

"Where are your shoes?" Chopper asked. "You didn't have any on when you landed."

"I lost them a couple days ago," Selene said.

"I'm sorry," Chopper said.

"Don't worry about it," Selene said. "I can get another pair later." Her stomach growled. "Guess I'm hungry."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was suppose to alert Sanji when you woke up," Chopper said. "I'll go do that right now."

"You don't have to go through the trouble," Selene said. "I mean he doesn't. It's not necessary."

"It's no trouble at all. Sanji loves to cook, as I'm sure you already know. I'll go tell him you're awake and be right back," Chopper said before leaving through the door.

Selene watched him go before looking back around the room again. Other than the stuff she saw already there was also a bookshelf in the room. She knew he said she didn't have to stay in here, but she didn't really feel like she had the right to leave this room. She shifted so her back was against the wall and hugged her knees. "Nosebleed and my arms…I wonder if that's all they-"

"I'm back," Chopper said entering into the room.

"That was fast," Selene said.

"Sanji was currently out on the deck," Chopper said. "He'll have you something to eat in a few minutes."

"That quick, huh?" Selene asked.

"He's the best cook you'll ever have the pleasure of cooking for you," Chopper said.

"I guess he's still impressing people with his cooking." Selene rested her chin on her knees.

"Would you like to go out on the deck now?" Chopper asked. "My crew would like to meet you."

"I guess so," Selene said. "If your captain is really giving me permission to stay on his ship then I should pay my respects to him."

"That's a bit formal for us, but if you want to you can," Chopper said. "Come on."

Selene stood up from the bed, grabbed her bag from the foot of the bed, and followed him out on the deck. The bright sun poured into her eyes as the wood warmed her feet, causing her to shield her face with her hand until she could adjust to the bright light. She found they were at the back of the ship.

"This way," Chopper said.

Selene looked to her right to find the reindeer waving at her. She followed him, inspecting the parts of the ship she saw. It was rather bright and cheerful for a pirate ship. "Excuse me for saying, but this isn't what I expected a pirate ship to look like."

"What did you expect?" Chopper asked.

"Something more, um, rundown and dark? And certainly not as bright," Selene said.

"Well, our previous ship would have met that expectation," Chopper said. "Back then we didn't have a shipwright for us. So the Merry really got beat up."

"The Merry?" Selene asked.

"Our ship was called The Going Merry," Chopper said. "This ship is called The Thousand Sunny. Our shipwright, Franky, built it."

"I'm impressed," Selene said.

"If you think this is impressive you should see what else is on the ship," Chopper said. "We have an aquarium!"

"An aquarium? On a ship?" Selene asked.

"We sure do!" Chopper nodded. "It's in the bar! Luffy will probably show you around!"

"Wow! I'd really like to see that!" Selene said just before her stomach growled. The world spun around her again causing her to stumble to the wall. She slumped against it and drew in heavy breaths.

"Hey, you okay?" Chopper asked.

"I'm…I'm fine," Selene said between breaths. "I guess I'm just a bit more hungry and tired than I thought I was."

"You should eat then. After that we can give you a tour of the ship," Chopper said. "Can you walk?"  
"Yes." Selene nodded and pushed off the wall. She continued to follow Chopper down the pathway until they reached a set of stairs looking down over the deck.

"Hey, everyone! She's awake!" Chopper announced as they walked down the stairs.

Selene looked over the pirates. They weren't what she was expecting. They were scattered about the deck looking normal as anyone else she ever saw. Well, everyone except the skeleton. She found that one out of place.

"That's great!" a black haired guy wearing a red vest said. His smile was bright like the sun.

Selene found it hard to believe he was a pirate. He looked younger than she was. Noticing Chopper going down the stairs she followed him.

"How are you feeling?" the woman with the orange hair asked.

"I'm fine," Selene said. "Thank you."

"You should have a seat," Chopper said.

"Okay." Selene looked around. There were three places she could sit. One was on the deck -part of which was covered with grass- itself where several of the crew was sitting. The second was on the bench around the mast where the skeleton was sitting. She paused and looked at it, wondering why anyone would use a skeleton as a decoration. And the third place was in a chair at the small table the only two women here were sitting at.

"Please, join us," the black haired woman said with a serene smile.

"Thank you." Selene walked over to the empty chair and sat down. "My name is Selene. It's nice to meet you all."

"Hi, Selene," the black haired woman said. "I'm Robin."

"I'm Nami," the orange haired women said.

"Zoro." He had green hair and three swords around his waist.

"Franky. It's super nice to meet you." He was the largest of them all with big hands that could easily wrap around her waist.

"I'm the might Usopp!" He wore brown overalls, a bag over his shoulder, and curly black hair with a long nose.

"And I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy said still grinning.

Selene looked at each one, memorizing their names and faces.

"Oh, and my name is Brook. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Selene looked up at the skeleton. It was now standing over her, bowing like a gentleman would. She blinked and stared at him.

"I know this might be sudden," the skeleton said. "But may I see your panties?"

"Brook! You idiot!" Nami growled. Jumping up she punched the skeleton, sending him flying into the ship wall.

Selene barely heard her before a squeal of delight erupted from her throat. "I can't believe it! It's actually talking!"

"Huh? What is she talking about?" Zoro asked. "Shouldn't she be scared?"

"Scared?" Selene looked at the green haired man. He was leaning against the ship near a door with his three swords lying beside him. "Why would I be?" She stood up and walked around Brook, laid on the floor with a bump on his head. "This is amazing! I never would have guessed skeleton's could talk!"

"Wow! This is quite refreshing to meet such a lovely young lady who isn't scared of me!" Brook said. Sitting up he placed his boney hands on his face.

"So how can you talk and move?" Selene asked.

"From my devil fruit," Brook said. "I ate the revive revive fruit."

"Wow," Selene said. "I should have known. Devil fruits seem to come in all sorts of mysterious powers. Oh!" She covered her mouth before turning to the rest of the pirates with a bow. "Forgive my bad manners. I haven't extended my gratitude yet. It's nice to meet you all and to let me stay while I rest up. I must apologize for landing on your ship like I did. I didn't mean to do it."

"Don't worry about it," Nami said. "You're not an enemy so it's okay."

"Still, I must thank you for letting me stay here while I'm healing," Selene said.

"Chopper told us a little while ago that your shoulder is injured," Nami said.

"It is." Selene nodded. She sat back down. "But it's not that bad. I'll be fine."

"It'll probably take a few days for it to heal," Chopper said. "It is all right if she stay here, right, Luffy?"

"Of course it is," Luffy said.

"Lunch is served for the lovely lady," a familiar voice said.

Selene's heart raced. His voice was exactly the same. She turned to him. Her head spun at the sight of him walking towards her. Sweat gathered on her palms. Her eyes locked onto his bluish gray ones. "H-hey…S-Sanji…"

Sanji placed the steaming plate of shrimp and rice before her and smiled. "It's been a long time. Hasn't it, Selene? You're looking good as always."

"You're looking great, too," Serene said. Without another word she leaped from the chair and threw her arms around his neck. He even smelling the same blend of cigarette smoke and spices. "I can't believe it's really you! I've missed you!"

"I've missed you, too." Sanji wrapped his arms around her waist. He held her out at arms length then. "But why are you here? Where's the rest of your family? Did something bad happen to them?"

"No, nothing like that. They're at home safe and sound. You could say that I'm on a trip," Selene said sitting back down. She spooned some rice and slipped it into her mouth. Chewing she hummed at the familiar spices. "So good. It's even better than I remembered. And it's still my favorite."

"I would never forget your favorite dish," Sanji said.

Selene smiled.

"A trip, you say," Robin said.

"What kind of trip does a person take without a log pose?" Nami asked. "Or is it in your bag?"

"I don't have a log pose," Selene said. "The island I'm heading for doesn't have a magnetic field so a log pose would be useless anyway."

"Then how do you know where to go?" Usopp asked. "Does your devil fruit give you some kind of homing ability or something?"

"No, it doesn't." Selene chewed on her food in thought, wondering if she should tell them how she knows where she's going.

"Something wrong?" Chopper asked.

"No, thing's wrong. I guess it's all right to tell you. This necklace…" Selene reached into her shirt to find her necklace missing. An icy cold hand grabbed her heart and lungs. "No! It's not here! Where is it?!" She dropped to her hands and knees, scanning the deck. "I can't lose it! I need that thing! I'm lost without it!"

"The chain broke so Franky's fixed it," Luffy said.

"Sorry," Franky said digging into the pocket of his flowery shirt. "I forgot about it. It's all fixed now."

"Oh, I see," Selene said with a sigh. She stood up and took the necklace from him. "That's great. It would have been awful if I lost this thing." She placed it back around her neck and held the jewel in her hand. "You have no idea how much it means to me."

"What's so important about it?" Brook asked.

"It was a special gift from my grandpa," Selene said. "It's called a T.R. Tear."

"T.R. Tear?" Nami asked.

"Twilight Rainbow Tear," Selene said. "It's where a rainbow appears at twilight without rain. It only happens every seven hundred years."

"I think I have heard of that legend," Robin said. "If I remember correctly when this rainbow appears rainbow tears like that one rain down from the sky."

"You mean jewels rain down from the sky?!" Nami smiled. "I'd love to see that!"

"But getting to the mountain top is next to impossible," Robin said.

"Why is that?" Usopp asked.

"The wind is unbelievably strong there," Robin said. "Only three people out of millions have been able to make it all the way to the top of the mountain. Most turn back after only a couple of minutes of fighting the wind. And more than a few have even died."

"Sounds scary!" Chopper said.

"It's been my dream to go there and see it since my grandpa told me the legend when I was a little girl," Selene said. "And this is the year that it's going to happen. The rainbow is going to finally appear after seven hundred years. And I'm not going to miss it."

"So that's why you're flying way out here," Usopp said.

"That's right." Selene nodded. "And it's the reason I left home."

"Doesn't sound like a safe thing to do on your own," Sanji said. "You're family must be worried about you."

"It might not be a smart thing," Selene said. "But so far I haven't had much trouble with anyone. I'm sure my family's worried. Still, I'm not going to miss this. I don't care what I have to go through to get there. I will make it."

"That's so cool! You have to join my crew!" Luffy said. "It would be amazing to have a zoan type devil fruit user on board!"

"Seriously, Luffy?" Nami asked. "She already told us she's not staying very long."

"Sorry," Selene said. "I'm afraid I have to turn you down."

"Aw, come on," Luffy said. "It'll be fun."

"It does sound like a lot of fun," Selene said. "But I just can't. I have to get to this island as soon as I can."

"So how have you been able to survive on your own?" Nami asked. "You need clothes and food."

"Oh, I play my flute when I need money." Selene stuck her hand into her bag and pulled out a flute that was twelve inches long and the same color as her rainbow tear.

"Wow. That's beautiful," Robin said.

"Thanks," Selene said. "My grandpa was gifted in making these things. One of the few people that have seen the rainbow tears was related to our family. He passed the tears down hoping that someone would find a way to shape them into different shapes. These tears are harder than diamonds. My grandfather finally succeeded in doing that. He made this one special for me." She twisted the flute. The sun hit it causing rainbows to scatter over the ship just like her necklace. "They're in high demand but he only sells a few of these at a time."

"Amazing," Nami said.

"It's so cool!" Chopper said.

"So what makes you think you're going to be able to see this rainbow thing?" Zoro asked. "I mean if the wind is that strong, how are you going to get up to the top?"

"I haven't figured that out just yet. First, I have to get there," Selene said.

"What island is it on?" Nami asked.

"It's on Sunray Island," Selene replied. "I figured once I get there I'd figure out how to handle the wind."

"Excuse my bluntness, Selene," Brook said, "but you look like a small breeze can blow you over."

"Oh, that," Selene said looking down at her body. "I've always been on the small side of things. But it shouldn't matter. I get a bit heavier when I'm in my dove form."

"And we're going to help you!" Luffy shouted.

"What?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper asked.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Luffy said. "We finally have an adventure to go on! I want to see this rainbow, too!"

"Uh, sorry," Selene said. "But I sort of travel alone. As soon as my shoulder is healed, I'll be leaving."

"Aw, come on," Luffy said. "It'll be fun. And it's captain's orders."

"I already told you I can't be on your pirate crew," Selene said. "I'm not looking to become a pirate either."

"Don't even bother trying to change his mind," Usopp said. "Once he gets an idea in his mind there's no changing it."

"Are you serious?" Selene asked.

"We're not kidding at all," Chopper said.

"Not at all," the rest agreed.

Selene looked up at the one and only one she knew and trusted here.

"They're right. Once Luffy gets an idea in his head there's no stopping him. So you're stuck with us until we reach Sunray Island and see this rainbow thing," Sanji said. "This time I have to agree with him. I'd like you to stay for a while. It's been so long since we've seen each other last, too long. I want to get caught up on what you've been doing."

"Oh, well…" Selene shifted and took bite of her meal. She swallowed before saying, "I guess it would be nice to hear what you've been up to as well. I'm pretty shocked that you've decided to become a pirate."

"Good." Sanji nodded. "It's settled then."

"Yeah! We're going on an adventure!" Luffy threw his fists into the air. "It's fun time!"

"Just great," Selene said. "This is not what I needed."

"Is this really an inconvenience?" Robin asked.

"Uh, well, no," Selene said. "I'm just not use to traveling with people outside of my family. My parents can be rather protective. So I grew up being sheltered."

"That's understandable. But traveling with friends is a lot more fun," Usopp added. "And who knows when your shoulder is going to heal? You might be stuck with us longer than you think."

"Well, I guess you do have a point," Selene said placing her hand on her injured shoulder. "All right then. I'll stay with your all for a while, at least."

"Yes!" Luffy jumped up and down. "We've got a new crewmate!"

"I never said that! I'm not a crewmember! I'm a guest! Hey, listen to me!" Selene said. But Luffy continued to dance around the deck, happy as can be. She sat back in her chair with a huff and looked at Sanji. "You've got some strange friends here."

"You have no idea." Sanji smiled.

"Come on! I'll show you the Sunny!" Luffy said.

"Calm down, Luffy," Sanji said. "She hasn't even finished her meal yet."

"It would be best if she just rested today anyway," Chopper said. "She's tired from her trip."

"Aw, man," Luffy said dropping to the deck.

"You'll get your chance tomorrow," Usopp said.

"You can sleep with us in our room," Nami said.

"Thank you," Selene said.

"You'll probably want to freshen up before we go to bed," Robin said.

"We have the best bath on the Sunny," Nami said. "You'll love it."

"A hot bath does sound good," Selene said. "It's been a while since I've had one. Sorry if I'm offending any of your noses."

"Think nothing of it," Robin said.

"You smell a lot better than the men on this ship," Sanji said give Zoro a pointed look. "Some of them only bath once a week."

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" Zoro glared.

"Maybe because you stink! Take a bath more often!" Sanji said.

"Just shut up! I don't have to!" Zoro said.

"Uh?" Selene eyes bounced between the arguing pair. "They're arguing over a bath?"

"Just ignore them," Nami said. "They argue all the time."

"I see." Selene turned her attention back to her food. She finished it while Luffy started talking about his adventures and how he started off as a pirate from Foosha Village. For hours she listened to them talk, completely in awe of their adventures, all the way up to the point of her arrival. Then finally the women of the ship led her to the bathhouse. Her mouth fell open at the sight of the large tub in the floor. "This is amazing. It's bigger than my tub at home."

"Franky did an amazing job on the ship," Nami said while filling the tub with steaming hot water.

"I'll say," Selene said. "My little brother would love this. He's obsessed with ships. If he knew what all Franky can do I'm sure he'd have him build one."

"Franky might enjoy that," Robin said placing a couple towels on the vanity for Selene.

"Well, it's all ready," Nami said. "Is there anything else you need?"

"I don't think so," Selene said.

"Just call for us if you need anything," Nami said as she and Robin left the bathhouse.

"Thanks, I will." Selene watched them go. Once they were gone she placed her bag on the vanity stool, pulled out a pair of nightclothes, and placed them on the vanity before stripping and climbing into the water. The heat rushed over her body, relaxing her immediately. She sighed and leaned her head back. Her mind drifted to Sanji. Heat rushed to her face, her heart raced. He was a cuter than she remembered him being. Her crush on him was still alive inside of her. She sighed again. It has been so long since she saw him she thought the crush was gone. But it was still alive and strong as ever. "This is so stupid. What have I gotten myself in to? I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be near him again. Not now." She lifted her arms. Her locked onto her upper arms where the bandages were before she took them off. "Not like this."

She finished her bath before rejoining the crew out on the deck. Sanji had them some tea made. While enjoying the beverage she watched Sanji. He seemed different somehow but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. He definitely looked more at home here than he did back at the Baratie. But what was it? What changed? He still looked the same. His food had gotten better, but that wasn't a surprise. She knew he was a great cook and would get better with time.

"Well, I'm think I'm going to go to bed now." Nami stood up and stretched out her body. "It's getting late." She pointed up a set of stairs opposite from the ones that led to the kitchen. "Our room's behind that door. Come when ever you're ready."

"Thanks, Nami," Selene said. She watched the women go before turning back to the men. Most of them were heading into another door until only her, Sanji, and Usopp were on the deck. Usopp then headed up the stairs and disappeared towards Chopper's office. "Where's he going?"  
"It's our turn to stay up and keep a look out," Sanji said.

"Oh," Selene said. "I probably should have known that."

"Don't worry about it," Sanji said. "You going to head to bed now? You've had a long day."

"Yeah." Selene nodded. "I should get to bed."

Sanji took her cup, his fingers brushing against hers.

Selene's heart leaped. She hoped the moon wasn't bright enough for him to see her blush.

"If you need anything don't hesitate to ask. My crew will be glad to help you," Sanji said.

"Thank you, Sanji," Selene said.

"Good night, Selene," Sanji said.

"Good night, Sanji." Selene stepped away from him. She walked up the stairs, pausing to watch him gather up the dishes before finally going inside.

"You can share my bed," Nami said. "I hope you don't mine."

"That's fine," Selene said. She went over to Nami's bed, placed her bag on the floor, and laid down. Soon the women were saying their goodnights, the light was turned out, and the room fell silent.

…

 _Selene, draped over the railing, kicked her feet as she watched the pod of dolphins swim along side her parents' ship. She smiled at their obvious delight in swimming next to the large vessel. One particular dolphin kept trying to jump up to her level. He did it again, falling three feet short this time. When he resurfaced, she said, "Keep on trying! You'll make it! Come on! You can do it!"_

 _The dolphin chirped before starting to arch out of the water again._

 _Selene kept her eyes on the dolphin, unwilling to miss the time when he finally reached her level._

 _"Will you leave those dolphins alone?" her brother asked from behind her. "You should always leave nature alone. You'll make them think it's okay for them to follow us."_

 _"Oh, hush up," Selene said. "There's nothing wrong with talking to them. Dolphins are very friendly creatures. They have been known to help people when they're trapped in the water."_

 _"You still shouldn't cross those lines," her sister then said. "And it's very unladylike to hang over the side like that. The wind could blow your skirt up."_

 _"So what? It's not like underwear is a secret," Selene said._

 _"Mother!" her sister said._

 _Selene rolled her eyes. She and her sister were like day and night. They always seemed to be on the opposite side of everything._

 _"All right," their mother said. "Calm down all of you. We're almost there."_

 _"Almost there," Selene said. Her eyes still trained on the dolphin despite wanting to look up to see if their destination was in sight yet. Then it happened. The dolphin jumped one more time, reaching her height. "Yeah! You did it!"_

 _The dolphin chirped. It did a couple flips before diving back into the sea._

 _Selene turned her attention towards the bow. Her smile brightened. Their designation had finally come into view. The Baratie was in the shape of a fish. Being a fairly new restaurant the green paint was bright in the sun. Her heart raced with excitement. This place was starting to become famous around this area. One of her aunts had spoken to her mom about this place. And she just had to come eat here. She loved trying new foods whenever she could._

 _Releasing her hold on the railing, she dropped to her feet and ran up to the bow. Climbing up on the dove shaped figurehead, she watched the fish styled boat come closer. Before long the ship slowed down. Once it was slow enough, she kicked off her shoes._

 _"Selene," her mother said in her warning tone. "Don't you even think about it."_

 _Selene smiled at her mom from over her shoulder._

 _"Selene, you come down from that figurehead right now," her mom said._

 _"Sorry," Selene said before jumping. Her body arched._

 _"Selene!" her mother screamed._

 _"Oh, leave the girl alone," she heard her father said before falling below deck._

 _Cold water rushed over her skin. Opening her eyes she was greeted by the pod of dolphins. The one jumping towards her swam over and pushed her up to the surface. "Thanks. But don't worry. I'm not drowning. I'm going to check that ship out."_

 _The dolphin chirped._

 _She took off swimming towards the ship. Climbing up on the warm deck, she wrung out her skirt before waving to the dolphins. "See you later!"_

 _Selene checked on her family's ship before turning back to the restaurant. Her heart flittered with excitement. Done with stalling she started walking around the ship. The deck went all around it. "Amazing. I wonder how much a ship like this cost the one who commissioned it."_

 _A door creaked open._

 _Selene slipped up behind the door. A tall man with large forearms stepped over to the water. She took the time to slip inside of the ship. The door led her into a storage room. Several crates were shoved against the wall. They smelled of dirt and fresh vegetables. It was a smell she was very familiar with as her mother always kept a garden behind their house. Footsteps came towards her. She ducked behind a crate. The man from outside had come back. She waited for him to disappeared before continuing with her exploring. Walking in the direction the man went she heard the sounds of dishes and something sizzling. Reaching another door several spices reached her nose. Her tongue watered as her stomach rumbled so loud she thought she would be caught. Since no one came towards her, she slipped up to the door and looked into the next room. Several cooks were moving about the kitchen, chopping vegetables or meat, adding more spices to the dishes they were creating._

 _"Hurry up!" one of them said. "Our costumers are getting hungry!"_

 _"Shut up! We're cooking as fast as we can!"_

 _"Sanji! How's the soup coming?!"_

 _"Shut up! It's coming along fine!"_

 _Selene perked up at the sound of this Sanji's voice. He sounded a lot younger than the rest of them. Then she spotted blonde hair moving across a counter. She watched until the blonde hair appeared fully in her view. He was a boy her age with a curly eyebrow over his right eye. She bit her lip. His eyebrow looked so funny. The boy walked back the way he came. Her fingers twitched for more exploring. Her heart pounded at the thought of getting through this room without being seen._

 _She drew in a breath. Slowly letting it out, she slipped out into the room. With cat like agility she slipped through the room. A man turned, she slipped around behind him. Her heart jumped when another man stepped backwards. He was about to bump into her._

 _"Hey, where's the-oh. Never mind. I found it." The man moved back to the counter._

 _She exhaled as silently as she could before moving towards the door again. Slipping, dodging, and ducking, she was about three feet from the door. Her hand reached up for it. Her fingers were about to touch the handle._

 _"Hey, what are you doing in here?"_

 _She had been caught. Heart thumping she whipped around coming face to face with Funny Eyebrow Sanji. She waved at him. "Oh, um, hi."_

 _"Only cooks and servers are allowed back here," Sanji said._

 _"Sorry," Selene said. "I was just…looking around."_

 _"What's going on here?"_

 _Selene jumped at the unexpected voice behind her. She whipped around to find a slightly heavy set made with a braided blonde mustache. "How does your mustache stick out like that?"_

 _"How rude," the man said._

 _"Sorry." Selene giggled. She silenced herself when the man just stared at her. "It's also rude to stare like that."_

 _"This is my ship," he said. "I can do as I wish."_

 _"So you own this place?" Selene asked. She smiled when he nodded. "Cool! I love the fish shape of it." She held out her hand. "I'm Selene Shaw. Nice to meet you."_

 _"Shaw, you say?" he asked._

 _"That's right," Selene said._

 _"Well, I've heard of your family." He took her hand. "You're rather famous for your tea leaves. We use them a lot here."_

 _"Really? Glad you like them so much," Selene said._

 _"So she's the one who grows all those tea leaves," Sanji said._

 _"Actually, my mom started that," Selene said. "The business has grown so she had to hire some help."_

 _"I take it you are here with your family?" the man asked._

 _"Yes. I swam on ahead," Selene said. "But they should be inside by now."_

 _"I see." The man stroked his mustache. "Well, you better get to them then. It's not safe for kids to run around in here while the cooks are cooking. You'll get hurt."_

 _"She managed to make it through the room without anyone noticing," Sanji said._

 _"Really now." The man stared down at her again._

 _Selene shifted under his gaze. Her heart raced inside her ribs. She wondered if he figured it out._

 _"You must be really quiet on your feet for that to have happened," he finally said._

 _"It wasn't anything special. I mean they're cooking," Selene said. "So it was easy because they were distracted."_

 _"I guess that makes sense," he said. "Get going now. I'm sure your family is looking for you."_

 _"You're right. See you later." Selene headed for the door before pausing. "By the way, what's your name?"  
"Zeff," the man said._

 _"Nice to meet you." She looked at Sanji. She walked back over to him. Placing her finger on the straight part of his eyebrow near his nose, she traced his eyebrow. "You too, Funny Eyebrow Sanji. I look forward to trying your cooking."_

 _"Hey! What did you call me?!" Sanji demanded, pulling away from her with red cheeks._

 _All the cooks laughed._

 _"She's so cute!"_

 _"I think she has a crush on Sanji!"_

 _"I think Sanji has a crush on her!"_

 _"Shut up! I do not! And neither does she! We just met you morons!" Sanji snapped._

 _Selene laughed. She waved to Sanji and headed out of the kitchen. "I'll be waiting for your food, Funny Eyebrow Sanji!"_

 _"Hey! Don't call me that!" Sanji said._

 **Author's Note: Since this is a tragedy it's not going to be very long. And I'm keeping some information on Selene's family a secret on purpose. The reason(s) while will be revealed later.**


	2. Followed

Followed

Selene jerked and woke up. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Sitting up she looked around the unfamiliar room in what little moonlight filled the room through the portholes. Seeing the table and two chairs in the room she remembered she was on the pirate ship. In a panic she looked down to see if she had woken the two women pirates up. She didn't. They were still sleeping beside her. She was in between them. Carefully, she moved to the end of the large bed, crawled off, and left the room. The cool night air hit her sweaty body, making her shiver. Wrapping her arms around herself, she rushed to the bathroom just below the stairs. After knocking, to make sure no one was inside of it, she entered. Flipping on the light, she stepped over to the sink and looked at herself. A heavy sigh left her lips at the sight of the small red dots on her face. Shaking her head, she pushed it from her mind and cleaned herself up a bit. Finally dry she left the bathroom.

"Something wrong, Selene?" Sanji asked.

Selene jumped at his unexpected voice. Her knees buckled underneath her, she dropped to the deck. Pain shot through her knees when she collided with the wood. "Ouch."

"Sorry." Sanji rushed down the stairs. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," Selene said as he knelt beside her. "What were you doing out here anyway?"

"I'm on guard duty tonight," Sanji said. "Sorry. I should have told you that."

"Don't worry about it," Selene said. "I should have known someone was. After all we had guards at night on our ship too. It would be dumb to leave the ship unguarded."

"What are you doing up?" Sanji placed a hand on her shoulder. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that," Selene said hoping he couldn't noticed the spots on her face. Silence fell between them for a few minutes. "So, how have you been? We didn't get much time to talk today since Luffy was telling me of your crew's adventures."

"I've been fine. Let's go up to the helm so I can still keep watch," Sanji said.

Selene nodded. When he offered her his hand, she took it and stood up with him. She expected him to release her but he didn't. He kept her hand in his. The touch of his smooth skin made her heart flutter. She hoped she didn't start sweating again. She didn't have an explanation she wanted to give him for it. Mindlessly she followed him as he led her to the stairs. Reaching the helm he guided her to the bench the sat a few feet behind it. She sat down with him. "So what made you become a pirate? No, let me guess. Are you finally looking for the All Blue?"

"You remembered." Sanji smiled.

"How could I forget? You spoke about that often when we were at the Baratie," Selene said.

"You guessed correctly," Sanji said. "I actually refused Luffy's invitation to join the crew because I still felt like I owned Zeff. But he gave me his blessing to go. So I did. And here we are."

"It's kind of amazing honestly," Selene said.

"What is?" Sanji asked.

"That you've survived the sea," Selene said. "I know what's all out there. It's scary."

"Says the one who's out here all on her own," Sanji said.

Selene mentally cursed herself. She shouldn't have said that.

"Why are you out here all alone? Where's your family?" Sanji asked.

"They're back home like I said," Selene said. "And I've already told you that I wanted to see that rainbow tear. Is that wrong? It's not that much different from your journey to find the All Blue."

"I'm sorry," Sanji said. "I guess I'm just worried about you."

Selene swallowed when he ran his eyes over her. She wondered if it was possible he could tell.

"There's something different about you but I can't put my finger on it," Sanji said.

Selene shrugged. "Might be because we haven't seen each other for a while. You look different too." She pointed at the cigarette in his mouth "Though I can see you're still a chain smoker."

"Hey! I'm not a chain smoker!" Sanji smiled. "I take a break once in a while."

"Please. You smell like a chimney still," Selene said.

"Okay, I'll let that one go for now since it's been so long since we've seen each other and you're tired," Sanji said.

"Oh, don't give me that bull." Serena shoved him. "I know you would never hit me. Your code won't allow it."

"You're right." Sanji laughed.

"You still fight with your feet, right?" Selene asked.

"I do." Sanji nodded.

"You get along with your crewmates, right? Well, expect for Zoro," Selene said. "How are they? They good friends?"

"They're great. All but for that crummy swordsman of course," Sanji said. "I can do without him. Luffy is flat out insane. Nami's a wonderful navigator. Robin's has some amazing skills of her own. Usopp's a coward but a great sniper. Franky's an amazing mechanic. Brook's great with his violin. They're all pretty amazing."

"Even the crappy swordsman?" Serena poked his side.

"Okay, fine," Sanji said. "But if you tell anyone I said he was good I'll deny it like mad."

"Sure thing," Selene said. A wind lifted up, causing she to shiver. She wrapped her arms around her body, trying to shield herself from the cool air.

"You okay?" Sanji asked.

"I'm fine," Selene said. "It's just a bit chilly out here."

"Then you should go back inside," Sanji said.

"It's fine," Selene said with a shake of her head. "I want to stay with you for a while longer. I get the feeling we're not going to have much time together."

"You're right," Sanji said. "My crew can be rather crowded despite the low number of us. Still…" He took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. "Take this."

Heat rushed to Selene's cheeks. Her heart raced when his fingers brushed against her shoulders as he placed his jacket on her. "Uh, thank you."

"My pleasure," Sanji said with a sweet smile.

Selene looked at him. A small amount of blush appeared to be on his cheeks but she couldn't be tell in the low light of the moon.

"So how is your family? They doing fine?" Sanji asked.

"Yes, they're fine," Selene said. "Same as always. Not much has changed with them."

"I bet they're freaking out that you're out here on your own," Sanji said.

"Maybe," Selene said. "But I'm not a kid anymore. I can make my own decisions now." When Sanji didn't reply she glanced at him. He was studying her. She swallowed, her heart raced. "What?"

"Nothing I guess," Sanji said. "There's just something different about you."

"You think so?" Selene looked out at the horizon.

"What happened to you?" Sanji asked.

"What do you mean?" Selene looked at him.

"You and your family stopped coming to the Baratie," Sanji said.

"Oh, that." Selene shrugged. "Life happened I guess. We stopped traveling so much. I wasn't happy about it, believe me. But what could I do? I was still a kid then that had to listen to mommy and daddy."

"I missed you," Sanji said.

"I know. I've missed you too," Selene said. Her heart skipped a beat when he traced his fingers over her cheek. "So, uh, how's everyone back at the Baratie?"

"Fine." Sanji pulled his hand back. "As lively as ever."

"That's good to hear," Selene said.

"They'd like to see you again," Sanji said.

Selene twitched. "Maybe one day."

…

"Another wonderful meal," Selene said looking at the young man sitting beside her. "Thank you for breakfast, Sanji."

"It was my pleasure," Sanji said.

"Yes, that was a whole lot better than normal," Nami said. "Did you go all out for our guest?"  
"What are you talking about?" Sanji flushed. "I always cook this good!"

"She's right," Robin said. "This was extraordinary."

"I hate to admit it but it was," Zoro said.

"Not you too!" Sanji snapped.

"You guys are so funny." Selene smiled.

"You ready for the tour?!" Luffy then asked.

"Sure." Selene nodded. She finished the last of her tea and stood up. "Oh, wait. Sanji would you like some help cleaning up?"

"No thanks," Sanji said gathering up the dishes. "I could never allow a guest to clean up. You go on with your tour. This wont take me long at all. I'll see you soon."

"If you're sure," Selene said.

"I'm sure." Sanji smiled.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Luffy cheered.

"You coming, Selene?" Chopper asked.

"Of course." Selene waved to Sanji then followed the two out of the kitchen. "So where are we going first?"  
"Well, you've already seen the bathrooms so how about the fish tank?" Chopper asked.

"Yes, that would be nice. I'd love to see it," Selene said.

"Great!" Luffy said leading her towards the bar.

Selene gasped when they stepped into the room. The size of the fish tank was unexpected. It was practically the size of the wall. She was expecting a smaller fish tank. "It's so big."

"We use it to store fish that we eat," Chopper said.

"We even had a shark in there at one point," Luffy said.

"A shark, huh?" Selene pressed her fingertips to the cool glass. "That must have been so amazing. I wish I could have seen it."

"Maybe you will," Chopper said. "We fish all the time. Luffy might catch one again and shove it in there."

"And let me guess," Selene said. "The shark ate all the fish."

"It sure did." Chopper smiled. "We still blame Luffy for that."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know it would do that?" Luffy puffed out his cheeks.

"It was a shark! They eat other fish!" Chopper said.

Selene laughed. "You two are so funny. So what's next on the tour?"

"The Soldier Dock System!" Luffy said. "You have got to see the Shark Submerge!"

Selene nodded. She followed the two pirates back out onto the deck and down through a hole she never noticed before. Reaching the bottom of the ladder she gasped when she saw the small shark submarine sitting in place. "Franky did all of this?"  
"Yeah!" Luffy nodded.

"He's amazing," Selene said. "I never knew someone with such skill existed. Have you guys used it yet?"

"We have a couple of times," Luffy said. "Would you like to go for a ride?"  
"Could we?" Selene looked at him.

"Of course. I'm the captain after all," Luffy said. He walked over to the sub and jumped up on the top of it. "Come on."

"Oh. Okay." Selene walked over to the sub. Carefully, she stepped upon the steel fin then climbed up to the top with Luffy. He twisted the handle on the hatch and pulled it open before jumping in. Placing her hands on the edge of the opening, she lowered herself in. Reaching the bottom of the ladder she instantly found Luffy at the front of the sub.

"You can sit here," Luffy said patting the seat to his right. "You'll love the view."

Selene walked over to him and sat down. "This sub is so cute."

"I told the others we're going for a ride," Chopper said while closing the hatch. He then sat in the seat beside her.

"You're not going to drive the sub?" Selene asked Luffy.

"Naw," Luffy said. "I don't know how to."

"Don't worry, Selene," Chopper said. I've driven it before."

"That's good to know," Selene said.

"Let's go then!" Luffy cheered.

Resting her hands in her lap, she watched as the sub began to turn. When they came to an obvious door, it opened up. They launched. "Oh! Wait!"

"What? What is it?" Luffy asked.

"You two are devil fruit users," Selene said. "Isn't this dangerous for you?"  
"You're a devil fruit user too. If we fall in the sea we would be in trouble," Chopper said. "But we're safe in the sub. Besides we're not going to be out here for very long."

"Yeah! Just relax and enjoy yourself," Luffy said.

"I'll try." Selene turned her attention to the window in front of them just as Chopper stared to dive. The world darkened around them until the small animal touched a button. A light lit up on the outside of the sub. She gasped. So many fish of different sizes, shapes, and colors appeared before her. "Amazing!"

"This is your first time underwater, huh?" Chopper asked.

"It is," Selene said. "I've been on plenty of boats and ships, but I've never had the opportunity to do something like this. It's amazing!"

"She's so happy." Luffy smile.

Chopper nodded.

Selene leaned forward to get a better look at the water world around them. Her heart raced with excitement and concern when a large squid swam by. She expected the creature to be bothered by them but it kept on swimming without giving them a simple glance.

They ended up spending over two hours in the sub before Luffy's growling stomach forced them to go back to the ship. They all left the sub and climbed back up the ladder to the deck. Sanji was there when she reached the top. He held out his hand for her. "So how was it?"  
"Beautiful." Selene took his hand and stepped onto the deck. "I absolutely loved going under the water. It's definitely different from being above the surface."

"We should go again," Luffy said. "Right now I want meat!"

"Luffy, we just ate breakfast a little while ago," Sanji said still holding onto Selene's hand.

"Besides, Sanji looks like he's busy as it is." Usopp chuckled.

"He seems quite comfortable holding Selene's hand." Nami rested her elbows on the round table she and Robin were sitting at. Leaning forward she smirked at the blonde cook.

Robin smiled.

Selene's heart jumped. Her mind told her to pull away from Sanji but her body wouldn't listen to her. She dropped her eyes to the deck, hoping she could keep herself from blushing.

"Knock it off," Sanji said finally releasing Selene's hand.

The warmth of his hand left hers. Her heart sank. She wanted to take his hand back but knew she couldn't.

"Sanji! Food!" Luffy said.

"I could use a little snack," Selene said trying to force her mind off of wanting to hold Sanji's hand again. "How about a parfait?"

"That sounds wonderful," Sanji said heading for the stairs. "I'll get right on that."

"Thank you, Sanji," Selene said.

"My pleasure." Sanji smiled.

"Selene, why don't you come sit with us for a while?" Nami asked.

"Yes. Do join us," Robin said.

"Sure." Selene walked over to them and sat down. "So anything in particular you wanted?"

"Nothing much. But you can tell us what Sanji was like when he was younger," Nami said. "How old were you two when you met?"  
"I believe we were both still ten years old at the time," Selene said. "And, at first, he was a normal boy who loved to cook."

"So he wasn't the fall in love all the time moron he is now?" Nami asked.

"No, he wasn't," Selene said. "That came later when his hormones hit him. He was such a cute little kid, always trying to impress Zeff and the other chiefs."

"You sound like you're really fond of him," Robin said.

Heat rushed to Selene's cheeks. "Well, we're friends. And he's a good cook. We did end up creating a game that I guess bonded us together."

"What kind of game?" Nami asked.

"We called it Catch Me," Selene said. "See the first time my family and I went to the Baratie I snuck into the kitchen. I slipped through the kitchen without being noticed until I was almost out. Sanji caught me then. Then every time we ate there I always tried to sneak through the kitchen without being caught."

"Did you manage to do it?" Nami asked.

"No," Selene said. "Sanji managed to catch me very single time. But the other cooks never did." Leaning back in her chair, she sighed and looked up at the sky. "It's like he knew somehow that I was there."

"Sounds like you two really did bonded over that game," Robin said.

Selene dropped her eyes back down to the table and smiled. "I guess we did."

"It's ready, my darlings!" Sanji sang.

"That was quick," Nami said.

Sanji danced down the stairs before placing the parfaits on the table for the women.

"Yeah!" Luffy ran over and grabbed his while the rest got theirs at a slower pace.

Selene took a bite. The tangerine flavor danced over her tongue. "This is amazing!"

"Glad you like it," Sanji said. "It was made fresh."

"Luffy showed me the tangerine trees," Selene said looking up at the trees. "I never would have guessed you could sail with trees."

"You can as long as you have the dirt and keep them watered," Nami said. "Those are from my mother's fields. I couldn't leave home without them."

"I see," Selene said.

"I'm so bored," Luffy said. "Brook, play a song!"

"Sure thing, Luffy," Brook said. He scarfed down the last of his parfait before pulling out his violin. He pulled the bow across the strings before he started the song.

"Wow. I heard this song before," Selene said. "It's beautiful but sounds kind of sad."

"It's called Bink's Brew," Brook said. "This is a ballet version I came up with."

"It's very lovely," Selene said. "I can tell you're a very gifted musician."

"Thank you," Brook said.

"Sanji." Selene jumped up from her chair. She grabbed Sanji's hand and pulled him to the middle of the deck. "Let's dance."

Zoro chuckled. "I'd like to see that."

"Shut up, stupid moss head! I can dance just fine!" Sanji snapped, his cheeks red. He turned back to Selene. "Though I haven't done this in a long while."

"You'll be fine," Selene said.

Sanji smiled. He stepped in beat with the music, guiding Selene along with him.

Selene easily followed his ever move. Like a well-oiled machine they moved together as if they had been dancing together every day of their lives. Forgetting where she was and what she was here for, she allowed herself to get lost in his eyes. Her heart skipped a few beats when he started leaning in towards her. Suddenly, her body grew tired. It caused her to misstep and she tripped over Sanji's shoe.

The movement caught him off guard as well. He tried to grab her but ended up falling to the deck with her.

Selene winced when her elbow collided with the deck. Warm blood leaked from the wound.

"I'm so sorry!" Sanji said. "I didn't mean to! I tripped! You're hurt!"

"It's fine. Just a small scratch," Selene said. "Besides I was the one who tripped not you."

"You okay?" Sanji helped her sit up. His hand brushed against her elbow. He lifted his hand up to his face when he felt the warm blood. "What? You're hurt."

"I'm okay," Selene said. "I just hit my elbow."

"Chopper, will you take a look?" Sanji said despite the reindeer already doing so.

"I didn't think you hit the deck that hard. But you're bleeding quite a bit. And it looks like there's a little dirt inside of it," Chopper said looking at the wound. "Come to my office and let me clean it out for you."

Selene nodded. She stood up.

"Wait!" Sanji jumped to his feet. "Let me carry you!"

"I'm fine, Sanji. It's just a scratch," Selene said before following Chopper to his doctor room.

Sanji watched her go. Guilt was flooding through his chest. He should have been able to catch her. Instead he just fell with her and she got hurt. Sighing he shoved his hands into his pockets and forced himself to stay behind.

"Don't worry about it, Sanji," Nami said pulling him from his thoughts. "It was an accident."

"Indeed," Robin said. "You got distracted by her lovely eyes."

"I think he got distracted for more than just her eyes," Nami added with a giggle.

"What are you talking about?" Sanji turned to them.

"Don't try to deny it, Sanji. It's obvious you have a crush on her," Nami said.

"Don't be silly. She's just a friend," Sanji said.

"A friend that you wanted to kiss," Usopp said leaning against the railing. "You two clearly wanted to kiss just now."

"You're being stupid," Sanji said.

"Oh? So what was that last night that I saw?" Usopp asked. "I came to check on you during our guard shift and found you two talking. And she was wearing your jacket."

"Like I said, you're being stupid," Sanji said. "We were just catching up. She couldn't sleep and decided to keep me company for a while. I gave her my jacket because she was cold. It was nothing more than that."

"Sure it wasn't," Usopp said smirking.

"Whatever." Sanji gathered up the empty glasses and headed for the kitchen to clean them.

…

Selene entered into the doctor's room when Chopper held the door opened for her.

"Go ahead and sit down," Chopper said.

Selene sat down on the bed. She watched as Chopper rushed around the room gathering the necessary items he would need to take care of her elbow. Within a couple minutes he had everything and joined her on the bed. Stinging pain shot through the wound as Chopper dabbed it with antiseptic. She winced.

"Sorry," Chopper said.

"It's fine," Selene said.

"You seem to bleed a lot," Chopper said.

"Sensitive skin, I guess," Selene said.

Chopper looked up at her.

Selene just shrugged. "I can be accident prone too."

"All right," Chopper said.

Selene exhaled.

"There you go. All bandaged up," Chopper said. He jumped off the bed and put the remaining items back up. "Let me know if it gets infected or if anything changes. Are you in pain?"  
"No, no pain," Selene said.

"That's good," Chopper said. "You're free to go."

"Thanks." Selene left the room.

"So when are we going to find this Rainbow Tear thing?" Luffy asked when she got to the deck again. "How do we even get there?"

"My tear necklace leads me." Selene pulled her necklace off and let it dangle from her fingers.

"How?" Usopp asked.

"After it rains all I have to do is let the sun hit it," Selene said. "The tear then will create a beam that guides me to a cave."

"A cave? I thought this place was on top of a mountain," Nami said.

"It is," Selene said. "But we have to get to this cave to get the directions to the mountain. Or that's the only way I know to get to it."

"A temple?" Brook asked.

"Apparently some people use to worship the rainbow tears like they were gods or something," Selene said. "Though I don't believe it."

"Sounds farfetched to me as well," Usopp said.

"Why do we have to go to this cave? Why doesn't the tear thing just lead us right to the mountain?" Luffy asked.

"Legend has it the people who supposedly worshiped the tears created some form of barrier that keeps the mountain protected." Selene placed the necklace back on. "But they still needed a map and placed it in a temple in a cave. The tear will show the map when we get there."

"But how is that going to happen if we're inside of a cave?" Zoro asked. "The sun doesn't shine in caves."

"There has to be something there that I'm not aware of," Selene said. "These people would need to see the map."

"Maybe they have a mirror system in place that allows them to reflect the sun inside the cave," Robin said.

"Well, we'll see when we get there," Nami said.

Selene nodded.

…

Selene stared up at blue sky. It was spotted with a lot of fluffy white clouds. Without realizing it she started to look for different animal shapes. She found a turtle and a duck before Nami shouted out.

"Hey! There's a storm coming!" Nami said. "Furl the sails!"

"You got it!" the crew said.

Selene brought her eyes down to the crew as they rushed around the deck, pulling on ropes, and making sure everything was secure in place. The wind picked up. She glanced back up at the clouds to see that dark grey ones had rolled in suddenly. "Wow. She's good."

"Hey! Selene!" Sanji called. "Please, come to the kitchen with me!"

"Okay." Selene stood from her chair and headed up to him.

"Here you go." Sanji held open the door for her.

"Thank you." Selene entered.

"You'll be safe in here," Sanji said.

"I'm not worried," Selene said.

"Never said you were," Sanji said. "I just didn't want you to be outside and get knocked off the ship."

"You're so sweet." Selene smiled. "But shouldn't you be out there helping them?"

"They got a handle on this," Sanji said. "Besides they're done doing what's necessary."

"Then we're all alone," Selene said. Her heart fluttered just as her stomach flipped.

"I guess we are. Would you like some tea?" Sanji walked over to the stove.

"Sure." Selene sat down at the bar. She watched him fix the tea before placing it down on the counter. Thunder rumbled overhead. Lightning flashed brightly through the portholes. "Looks like it's getting worse."

"It does." Sanji poured him a cup of tea. A wave crashed up against the ship, thrown him off balance. He grabbed the hot teapot without thinking. The pot clanked to the floor. "Ouch!"

"Sanji." Selene jumped from her stool. She rushed around the counter and took his hands in hers. "What were you thinking?"

"Guess I wasn't," Sanji said.

Selene blew on his red hands.

"I guess that was stupid," Sanji said. "Haven't hot tea during a storm. You could have gotten hurt."

"You're the one who got hurt," Selene said. "And you're worried about me?"

"How can I not worry?" Sanji asked.

Selene glanced up at him. "What?"  
"I mean you're my friend." Sanji flushed and adverted his eyes.

"Right," Selene said. "Well, I don't think there's any damage."

"Yeah." Sanji nodded.

Selene dropped her hands. She parted her lips to say something but was thrown off her feet when another wave knocked into the ship. Falling forward she took Sanji down with her. They landed on the floor. "I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault. You're not hurt, are you?" Sanji asked.

"No, I'm-" Selene looked up, coming nose to nose with Sanji. Both blushed. She tried to move away but he placed his hand on her back, keeping her in place. "Sor-"

Sanji placed his finger over her lips before leaning forward.

"Hey, you two all right in here?" Brook asked.

Sanji and Selene jumped and scrambled away from each other just as the musician came around the corner.

"Oh dear me. Seems I interrupted a tender moment," Brook said.

"Not at all," Sanji said. "We just were thrown off our feet by that wave."

"If you say so," Brook said.

"Did you need something?" Selene pushed herself to her feet, unable to look at Sanji.

"I was just checking on you two," Brook said. "And to tell you the worst of the storm is about over. We'll only have to deal with rain before long."

"Thanks for telling us," Sanji said adjusting his tie.

"I'll leave you two alone then." Brook dashed back out the door.

"Well, that was…interesting," Selene said.

"Yeah," Sanji said.

A beat passed between them.

"So, looks like the storm is finally settling down," Selene said after a distant rumble of thunder happened.

"Sure does."

"How about we have that tea again?" Selene walked back to her seat.

"Sure." Sanji grabbed towel and cleaned up the mess before putting a pot of fresh water back on the stove.

Selene exhaled as silently as she could to calm her racing heart. They had ended up so close. And he was actually going to kiss her. Or was he? Would he have if Brook hadn't interrupted them? Would she have kissed him back? She wanted to. Though now she never would know if she would have or if he would have actually kissed her.

Before long the tea was done and they drank in quiet. A few of the other Straw Hats ventured inside until the storm was over. Once it was they all stepped back outside. Selene glanced up at the sky. The clouds were parting, letting the sunshine through. Taking her necklace out of her shirt, she held it up so the sun could catch it. The sun beamed down into the crystal. A rainbow colored beam shot out.

"So cool!" Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp said. They jumped up and down, trying to catch the beam in their hands and hooves. "A beam!"

"Looks like it's pointing northeast of here," Nami said. "I'll keep us on track."

"Thanks, Nami," Selene said before putting the jewel up.

"Hey!" the boys whined when their game got cut short.

"We should head for an island first and stock up," Nami said. "And get you some new shoes."

"Thanks a lot," Selene said.

Half an hour later they pulled up into the docks of the island they found.

Selene slipped on the sandals Nami had brought her. They were half a size too big for her but they would do until she got her own. "Thanks for letting me borrow these."

"Don't worry about it. Come on," Nami said as she climbed done the rope ladder. "Let's get your clothes while the guys get the rest."

"Hey! Why do we have to get it?!" Usopp and Luffy asked.

"Because we have other things to do," Nami said.

"I'm going to come with you and the girls," Chopper said.

"Okay," Nami said.

"I'm going to stay with the ship," Franky said.

"I'll keep you company," Brook said.

"Okay," Nami said. "See you later."

Selene climbed down the rope ladder. Landing on the deck a strange feeling of being watched washed over her. Her heart galloped. She scanned her eyes around the sea and the island. Nothing appeared out of place. Those coming to and from the docks, and those on their ships, weren't even looking in their direction. Still, she knew someone was watching her. If she couldn't see them then it meant they were concealing themselves somewhere. She scanned her eyes around the area again. She spotted plenty of hiding places for someone to hide, inside of ships, in dark alleys, inside the buildings. Kneading her eyebrows she tried to figure out where they were watching her from.

"You okay, Selene?"

Selene jumped.

"Sorry," Sanji said. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it was my fault," Selene said. "I was distracted."

"By what?" Sanji looked around. "This place looks rather normal to me."

"It was nothing," Selene said.

"You ready to go then?" Nami asked.

"I sure am." Selene nodded. Following after the three pirates, she waved to Sanji. "See you later."

"Take care," Sanji said.

"Don't worry, Sanji," Nami said with a wink. "We'll keep a close eye on your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Sanji said.

"Seem that way to me," Usopp said.

"I thought so too," Brook said.

"They're super cute together," Franky added.

"I thought they were a couple too," Zoro said.

"Shut up, you idiots, before I kick all yours butts!" Sanji screamed.

"Those guys," Selene said.

"They're a handful," Robin said.

"I feel exhausted just listening to them," Selene said.

"You look a bit pale," Chopper said. "Are you feeling sick?"  
"No, just tired," Selene said. "I guess I didn't rest very well last night."

"Hey, this place looks like it has some good clothes," Nami then said.

Selene turned her attention to the building they had stopped in front of. It was small with a couple dresses in the window display. They entered. Nami and Robin started looking at the clothes while Selene wondered towards the shoes. A dark red pair of sandals caught her eyes. She pulled them off the shelf.

"Is that all you're getting?" Chopper asked.

"It's all I need," Selene said. After paying for her purchase she wait for Robin and Nami to finish their own shopping. Once they were done they went to three more shops, where Nami insisted she buy a couple new set of clothes, before heading back to the ship. "You really didn't have to buy these for me. I didn't need them."

"Don't worry about it," Nami said. "Once I get my hands on a rainbow tear I'll get plenty of money back."

"So I'm not getting these for free after all," Selene said.

"Nami never gives money away," Chopper said.

"I see," Selene said. She eyed the bags on Chopper's back. He was in his normal reindeer form carrying their bags. "You okay with carrying that stuff?"

"Yes, I do this all the time. I don't mind helping," Chopper said.

Selene's hairs stood up. Grabbing Nami and Robin's shoulders she pushed them back before six kunai imbedded into the ground right next to Chopper's hoof.

"Ack! Wh-what the heck was that?!" Chopper shrieked his eyes wide as he eyed the kunai sticking in the ground.

"That was so close," Nami said. "We could have died."

"Yes," Robin said. "Those would have stabbed right into our hearts."

"Do you have to be so calm?!" Chopper asked.

"Who threw those?" Nami looked around. "Bounty Hunters? Pirates?"

"Ninjas," Selene said. She scanned her eyes around while slipping her hand into her bag. Pulling her hand back out, she produced twin sais.

"Huh? Where did those come from?" Chopper asked.

"A hidden pocket in my bad," Selene said. She twirled the sais and stood ready. "Here they come."

"Who's coming?" Chopper asked.

Selene turned to her right just as a black blur shot towards her. A clank of metal on metal sound through the air. She pressed her sai against the blade of a katana.

"Selene!" Nami pulled out her baton. She twirled it but before she could strike out another blur came rushing towards her.

"Nami! Jump to your right! Now!" Selene said.

Nami barely moved out of the way of a katana. "What the heck?!"

"Who are these people?" Chopper transformed into his human form.

"Are they ninjas?" Robin asked as she eyed the shinobi shozoku the two attackers wore.

Selene kicked her attacker away from her then kicked the one away from Nami. "Run!"

Without hesitation, the Straw Hat pirates turned and ran away from the area. Selene scanned the area before following them. She knew more were around. They were watching her, waiting for their moment to strike.

"Where are we going?!" Nami asked when Selene caught up to them.

"To find the others," Selene said.

"Who were those people?!" Chopper asked.

Selene swallowed. The town blurred around them as they dodged around the townspeople. Turning a corner they saw the rest of the their crew.

"Luffy!" Nami called.

"Hey!" Luffy waved to them. "What's going on?"

"We're in trouble!" Nami said as a kunai flew past her head. She squeaked. "Help us!"

"Hey, what's going on? Who's attacking?" Sanji asked.

"Is that a kunai?" Usopp asked.

"We're dealing with ninjas?" Zoro pulled out his swords before a group of fifteen ninjas surrounded them. Someone screamed, probably a woman from the town, before the shoppers scattered. "You want to tell us what's going on?"

"We don't know," Nami said. "They just attacked us. We'd be dead if Selene didn't save us."

"You did?" Zoro looked at Selene.

"You okay, Selene?" Sanji stepped up next to his friend.

"I just got lucky in noticing the attack." Selene kept her eyes locked on the ninjas. Running her eyes over them she noticed two particular ninjas were dressed in black shozoku while the rest were wearing dark blue. She swallowed. With her hands trembling she tightened her hold on her sais. Dropping them now could be deadly.

The ninjas took their stances, some wielding katana, some kunai, and some shuriken.

"So cool!" Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp said, their eyes shining like stars. "They are ninjas!"

"Will you two stop being so impressed by everything little thing?!" Sanji growled. "This is serious!"

Selene watched as the ninjas charged forward, ignoring her and going straight for her friends. The pirates struck out at them but with ninjas move were fast and swift like they were part of the wind. She knew the pirates were strong but they wouldn't be able to win if they can't hit the ninjas. Their only choice would be to run.

"Who the heck are these guys?" Sanji asked as he missed landing another kick on a ninja.

Zoro swiped out at a ninja wielding ninja. The ninja jumped, easily avoiding the attack before landing a kick on the swordsman's head.

"Gum Gum Gatlin!" Luffy called. He threw out his punches. The ninjas bounced around them. "Hey! Hold still!" He threw more punches. "Stop jumping around!"

Three ninja's ran towards him. Just before they were in striking distance, the three ninjas jumped over his head. One of the black dressed ninjas appeared, they landed a punch on Luffy's stomach, sending the rubber man flying several yards away from his crew.

"Hey!" Zoro raced towards the ninja who took out his captain. He took several swipes at the ninja, but they easily avoided them. The second blacked dressed ninja rushed the swordsman. They pulled out their own katana and knocked two of Zoro's swords to the ground.

"How's that possible?!" Usopp shrieked. "They took out two of our strongest fighters within a few seconds!"

"They're definitely strong," Sanji said. His eyes narrowed in on the two dressed in black. "Especially those two."

"We should run," Selene said.

"What?" the pirates asked.

"You don't have experience in fighting ninjas. It's obvious," Selene said.

"She's got a point," Robin said.

"No way!" Luffy came running back towards them. "I'm going to kick their butts!"

"Selene's right, Luffy," Sanji said. "We're in over our heads here."

"No!" Luffy jumped up. "Gum Gum Battle Axe!"

Selene gritted her teeth. Her heart pounded in her chest. She knew these pirates didn't have any battle experience dealing with ninjas. It was obvious the difference in their skills. Gripping her sais, she knew what she had to do. She raced towards the two strongest ninjas. Striking out her sais at them, she disarmed them within seconds.

"Whoa! Did you see that?!" Chopper said.

"She's amazing!" Usopp added.

"Run!" Selene screamed before tossing a small ball towards the ground. The ball exploded on contact with the hard terrain. Smoke rose up from it, giving the pirates time to escape. She turned and ran with them.

"What the heck?! What was that?!" Nami asked as they ran.

"Smoke bomb," Selene said.

"Where did you get one of those?!" Usopp asked. "Do you carry them around too?!"

"Ninjas always have them," Selene said.

"I see," Luffy said. "You must have pulled one off of the ninja. That was so cool!"

The group ran all the way to the docks. They boarded their ship, surprising Franky and Brook with their sudden arrival.

"Something wrong?" Franky asked.

"We were attacked by ninjas," Usopp said.

"Oh dear," Brook said. "Are they following you?"

"Doesn't look like it," Robin said scanning the town.

"Good." Nami dropped to the deck. "I don't want to have to fight them again."

"But how did you manage to do all of that?" Zoro asked while everyone was catching their breath. Everyone looked at Selene for the answer.

"I got lucky," Selene said. She lowered her eyes to the ground focusing on her breathing instead of the pirates. "They were distracted with Luffy so I took advantage of that."

"And why do you have those?" Zoro pointed at her sais.

Selene tucked them back into her bag. She looked up at the swordsman and frowned. "Is there something wrong with a woman protecting herself?"  
"No," Zoro said. "I just find it odd that you've never mentioned them before."

"What are you saying, stupid moss head?" Sanji asked.

"I'm saying it's odd that she was able to handle them as well as she did!" Zoro said.

Selene watched as the two pirates argued. She was about to step in and stop them when her vision blurred. Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground.

"Selene!" Sanji rushed to her side. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Selene said. "Just overwhelmed." She sighed when he didn't move or say anything else. "Really, Sanji. I just got overwhelmed. It's not a normal occurrence for me to fight…"

"I guess you're right," Sanji said. "You should go lie down for a while."

"It's not necessary," Selene said when he started to pull her into his arms. She pushed away from him. "I'm feeling better."

Sanji frowned but didn't push her to do what he wanted.

"So who were those people and why did they attack us?" Usopp asked.

"They were most likely after me," Selene said.

"But why would they be after you?" Brook asked.

"A lot have shown interest in my necklace." Selene gripped her necklace. "I suppose some would pay a lot to have something like this since it's so rare." She exhaled. Her breathes started coming in pants. Her skin grew hot and clammy. "They were probably after it."

"You don't look so good," Sanji said. He placed his hand on her forehead. "You're burning up."

"I'm okay," Selene said as she tried to stand up. But her head spun. Her knees buckled under her.

"Whoa!" Sanji pulled her into his arms. "Take it easy."

"He's right. You have a fever," Chopper said. "Sanji, take her to my doctor's office."

"You got it." Sanji carried her to the back to the ship. He laid her down once inside the small room. He stood up and waited while Chopper checked his friend over. "What is it, Chopper?"

"She has an infection," Chopper said. "I have some medicine that will help but she needs to rest for a while."

"That's not necessary." Selene sat up causing her head to spin. She wobbled.

"Selene." Sanji grabbed her shoulders, took off her bag, and pushed her back down to the bed. "Do as the doctor says."

Selene sighed. Her body grew heavier. They both were right. There was no way she would be able to argue. She just wanted to sleep. "Fine. I'll stay put."

"Good." Sanji nodded before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "And to make sure I'm going to stay right here."

Selene giggled before letting herself drift off to sleep.

…

Selene blinked the blurriness from her eyes when she finally woke up. Turning her head she found that only Chopper was in the room with her. He was sitting at his desk reading a book. "Where's Sanji?"

"Cooking," Chopper said turning towards her. "You've been sleeping for about three hours now."

"Oh." Selene stared up at the ceiling. Her body was still heavy from her fever, but she felt a little better having slept.

"Selene, there's something I want to talk to you about now that we're alone," Chopper said.

Selene gritted her teeth. Her heart raced. It was only a matter of time. This guy was a doctor after all.

"I'm concerned about you. I don't mean to pry, but I've noticed some other symptoms while you slept that remind me of a disease called-"

"Stop!" Selene said. "I'm fine! Really!"

"Selene, I'm just trying to help. It's obvious you're sick," Chopper said.

"You can't." Selene sat up. Her eyes locked down on the blanket over her lap.

"So you are sick," Chopper said. "Does Sanji know?"  
"No," Selene said. "And I don't want him to know. So, please, don't tell him or anyone else on your crew." Tears pricked her eyes. She looked at him. "I beg you. Please, don't them what you've discovered."

"I won't," Chopper said. "But if something bad happens to you…if you get worse I won't be able to keep this a secret from him. He's very good at noticing things. I'm sure he already has."

"I know he already has," Selene said shivering. She pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. "But I still don't want him to know. At least not right now."

"So that's why you didn't want to stay on the ship," Chopper said. "It had nothing to do with getting to the tears."

Selene nodded.

"Will you ever tell him?" Chopper asked.

"I don't know," Selene whispered.

…

Rolling onto her back, Selene placed the back of her arm over her forehead. Her skin was finally cool. Her fever had broken a few hours before going to bed, but she was still in the medical bay. Chopper wanted her to remain there for the night. She agreed. Mostly so she wouldn't have to dodge questions from the Straw Hats. But now she was unable to sleep. Her mind raced from Chopper discovering her secret and from wondering if she should tell Sanji about it.

Sighing, she sat up. Grabbing her bag she pulled out her flute and stepped outside. The night was warm. The sea was calm. And the moon hung bright in the sky. She pulled herself up on the railing, placed the flute to her lips, and started playing a slow song. Tears filled her eyes before streaming down her face.

…

Sanji didn't know what woke him up. His eyes appeared to have open up of their own will. Sitting up he looked around the room. Everyone, but for Franky and Zoro who was on duty, was sound asleep in their beds. Usopp, Luffy, Brook, and Chopper were haphazardly scattered over their bunks. Selene entered into his mind. He decided to go check on her. Getting out of bed he slipped out the door without waking anyone. As he walked up the stairs and across the deck that lead to the medical bay, he heard a sad song on the wind. He found the source coming from Selene. She was standing upon the railing of the ship playing her flute. Not wanting to disturb her, he leaned against the wall and listened to the song.

His heart skipped a beat when she gasped and folded into herself. He rushed forward when she stumbled backwards off the railing, catching her in his arms. "Selene!"

Selene gripped his shirt, her knuckles turning white.

"Hold on! I'll get Chopper!" Sanji said.

"Wait," Selene said before he took one step. "The pain's gone."

"What happened?" Sanji asked. He noticed her tears. "You've been crying." He noticed her body flinching in his arms. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Selene shook her head. "It was just the song. It always was makes me cry."

A few moments of silence passed. Sanji watched her carefully before saying, "You can talk to me. You know that, right?"  
"Of course I know that." Selene reached up. Placing her finger on the straight part of his eyebrow she traced it. "I've really missed you, Funny Eyebrow Sanji."

Sanji smiled. His heart raced in his chest. "Let's get you back inside."

Entering into the semi-dark room, Sanji laid her back down on the bed. He covered her up then turned to go. The feeling of her fingers on his sleeve caused him to turn back around. "Do you need something?"

"Please," Selene said. "Will you stay with me?"

"You want me to stay?" Sanji's heart hammered against his ribs when she lifted her blanket up. "Are you suggesting that we…Selene, I don't think-"

"Don't be a pervert. I'm only asking you to lay next to me," Selene said.

Sanji swallowed when she started up at him.

"Are you suggesting you want more?" Selene asked.

"No, I-I was j-just," Sanji stuttered.

"Just lay down," Selene said. "You…you make me feel better when you're around."

Sanji froze, his heart pounding in his ears. He wasn't sure but through the semi-dark room it looked like Selene was blushing. He knew she had a crush on him. But did it go deeper than he thought? Slipping out of his shoes, he laid down beside her.

"Thank you, Sanji."

"Yeah. No problem."

…

 _Selene kicked her legs as she watched the cooks roam about the kitchen._

 _"How is it possible you always sneak in here without us noticing?" Patty asked. "And why do you always sit there on the counter? Get off there, girl. That's not a chair."_

 _Selene giggled. "It's not my fault you cooks can't detect me when I come in here."_

 _"You're impossible," Patty said._

 _"Just let it go," Carne said. "It's been two years since she and her family started to come here. She's not going to stop her little game with her boyfriend."_

 _"I'm not her boyfriend!" Sanji snapped._

 _Selene smiled at him. He was only about two feet away from her, cooking like he was born doing. His cheeks flushed red as he clearly avoided eye contact with her. Her heart raced. She had to admit that he was cute. One thing she found that she was really growing fond of was his swirly eyebrows. Well, eyebrow. For all she knew he literally only had one eyebrow and one eye. She was going to have to lift up his hair one day and see if he was missing an eye and an eyebrow. When Sanji filled a bowl with soup, she slipped off the counter._

 _"So you finally leaving?" Sanji asked._

 _"That's my family's order, isn't it?" Selene asked._

 _"Of course it is. You know that," Sanji grumbled._

 _"He's so cute when he's around her," Carne said._

 _"Look at him," Patty said. "He can't even look at her. Must be the skirt she's wearing."_

 _"Shut up! I can look at her just fine!" Sanji said. Turning on his heels, he marched out of the kitchen._

 _"You all shouldn't tease him so much," Selene said._

 _"The boy deserves it," Patty said. "Besides, he has a crush on you. He's just too shy to say so."_

 _"He's not shy about his feelings towards other women," Carne said._

 _"That just means his attraction to Selene goes far deeper than a physical attraction," Patty said._

 _"You two are weird," Selene said._

 _"They have a point thought," Zeff said as he entered into the kitchen. "It's true that Sanji acts different around you. His hormones are starting to become out of control as he enters into his teenage years. He's always drooling over women yet he doesn't do that with you."_

 _"Don't tell us you never noticed," Carne said._

 _"I've noticed. But it's not a big deal," Selene said. "Besides we don't see each other that often. I'm fine with the way things are. Well, I better get to my family." She waved to them all. "See you later!"_

 _Selene exited the kitchen. Walking down the stairs to the main part of the restaurant, she instantly spotted Sanji. He was at another table, all heart eyed at a young teenager with long blonde hair. She sighed. A small bubble of jealousy bubbled up inside of her chest. The cooks were right. Sanji never drooled over her like that. But she smiled. She knew her relationship with Sanji was special. None of these other girls he was drooling over would ever be able to sneak into the kitchen like she could. And Sanji would always came to her defense when someone was trying to kick her out of the kitchen or any other time she needed to be defended by him._


	3. Rainbow Tears

Rainbow Tears

 _Selene watched. Her heart sank a little in her chest at how much Sanji was flirting with the birthday girl, the girl who was suppose to be her friend. She tried not to be jealous since no one really knew of her crush on the young blonde haired cook. Still, unable to handle it anymore, she slipped out of her chair and headed out to the deck. Crossing her arms over the railing she stared out at the horizon, watching a few ships pass by and some fish jumping up to catch bugs. She was unaware of how much time had passed but soon his presence appeared beside her._

 _"_ _What are you doing out here?" Sanji asked._

 _"_ _Just getting a bit of fresh air," Selene replied. "It was getting a little stuffy in there."_

 _"_ _Mind if I join you?" Sanji asked._

 _"_ _It's your ship." Selene shrugged. She started out at the sea for a while before glancing over at him. With him on her right side she was unable to see his face._

 _Then, sensing her stare, he looked at her. "What?"_

 _Selene blinked slowly before reaching for his hair. Pausing, she locked eyes with him. When he showed no sighs of protesting, she raked her fingers through his hair, pushing it aside to reveal the left side of his face. She smiled. He still had both eyes. And his left eyebrow was curly as well. Only the curl was near his nose. "You really are funny, Funny Eyebrow Sanji."_

 _"_ _Maybe so," Sanji said. "Now that you've seen my elusive left eye and eyebrow, how about I tell you how I ended up in this place?"_

 _"_ _You mean your family?"_

 _Sanji twitched._

 _"_ _I mean-"_

 _"_ _I know what you meant. And, yes, it's about them."_

 _Selene smiled. "I would love to hear about them. If you want to tell me."_

 _Sanji took a breath. Releasing it, he told her everything about his past._

…

Selene stretched out her body before relaxing back against her lawn chair. The sun was bright and warm so the two female pirates decided to get some sun while they had the chance. And she had been invited. It was such a nice day. She was glad to just relax for a while. Or at least rest enough with Chopper fussing over her. The small doctor had barely left her side since having discovered her secret. She wondered if anyone else had noticed. She glanced around at the crew. Brook was busy playing a tune on his violin, Luffy and Usopp were fishing, Franky and Zoro were just relaxing as much as the women were, and Sanji had disappeared into the kitchen a few minutes ago. As far as she could tell no one noticed a change in their doctor. She was glad for that.

"How you feeling?" Chopper whispered to her for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Just fine," Selene said. "You don't have to ask me that all the time."

"Sorry," Chopper said. "I'm just worried."

"And that's sweet but unnecessary," Selene said. "It won't change anything.

"Right." Chopper nodded.

"This is such a nice day!" Nami said while stretching out.

"Yes. It is." Robin turned to the next page of her book.

"Are we there yet?" Luffy asked.

"Shut up. Of course we're not," Nami said.

"This would be more exciting if the fish were biting," Usopp said.

"We need to go on an adventure," Luffy said.

"We are on an adventure," Sanji said exiting from the kitchen.

Selene looked up at him. Her heart raced. He looked so good in his black suit. It made him look like a butler with the tray of drinks in his hand. Then with the way he treated women he probably had that in mind or his subconscious did.

"Yeah. But it's boring," Luffy said looking over his shoulder.

"It'll get exciting soon enough," Sanji said before bowing to the women. "Hello, my darlings. I whipped up a special drink just for you."

"Thanks." Nami took a glass.

"Thank you." Robin took hers.

"And for you." Sanji held the last glass to Selene.

"Thanks, Sanji." Selene took the pink drink. Strawberry danced over her tongue when she took a sip. "This is amazing."

"And it's full of nutrients," Sanji said. "A good drink to boost the immune system."

Selene swallowed down a flinch. She forced herself to relax and remember he was all about keep the crew healthy.

"Very thoughtful of you," Robin said.

"Huh?" Sanji blinked.

"What is it, Sanji?" Selene asked when he stared at her.

"You have odd red spots all over your face," Sanji said reaching for her cheek.

"Oh, that." She pulled away from him. "It's nothing to worry about. It's just a skin condition I have." She waited for him to reply but he only continued to stare at her. "Really, Sanji. It'll go away soon."

"All right then," Sanji said. He walked away.

Selene fiddled with her straw. She expected the rest of the crew to say something but no one spoke up.

"Hey! I see an island!" Franky said forty-five minutes later.

Robin and Nami stood up. They went up to their room and came back a few minutes later, both changed out of their bathing suits.

The anchor dropped. They landed on the island and headed into the town with Luffy in the front of them all. Suddenly, small eruptions sounded off around the pirates. They blocked their mouths and coughed but it did nothing to help them. Several clicks then sounded out in the smoke.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Franky asked.

"I can't see!" Luffy said.

"We're going to die!" Usopp said.

"Where did all this smoke come from?" Zoro asked.

Figures moved around in the smoke.

"Hey! I can't find my baton!" Nami said.

"What?! My swords are missing too!" Zoro said.

Selene's heart raced. She jumped and dashed around in the smoke knowing it would be stupid to stand still. It was impossible for her to see what was happening to her friends but she knew it wasn't good, especially when the devil fruit users started complaining about being tired.

"What's happening?! I'm losing my strength," Luffy said before a thump happened.

"My energy is draining as well," Brook said.

"Me too," Chopper added. Two more thumps indicated they had fallen as well.

"They have put sea prism stone chains on us," Robin said.

"They put something on me as well," Nami said.

Selene bolted to her right. Finally she got to the edge of the smoke. She continued to run. She had to get away. Hopefully she had gotten away before anyone noticed. She slipped into the forest. Placing her hand on a tree, she paused to catch her breath.

"No! I don't want to die!" Usopp shouted.

Selene's heart jolted. Looking around the trees she found the ninjas had captures the majority of the Straw Hats. Sanji was so far the only one who was still free as the rest of the smoke floated away from them. The rest of the Straw Hats had been bound by chains and some ninjas had their kunai pointing at their necks. Breathing heavy, she leaned against the tree and watched. She had to leave. But she had to save her friends. Pain shot through her body. Her knees buckled underneath her. "No…I can't…"

Pushing herself to her feet, she turned and walked away. Her heart took several painful throbs. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Guilt hammered into her. She hated to leave them behind but she had to. The pirates would be fine. They wouldn't be hurt or killed. She was the one who had to get out of there. So she walked away from them.

…

Sanji leaped up into the air, kicking his feet at the ninjas and missing every single time. "Crap! This isn't working. They're too fast!"

"What the heck?!" Zoro demanded. "What are these chains made of?! And who took my swords?!"

"If Zoro can't even break them then they must be sea prism stone too," Franky said.

"That makes sense," Nami said. "It's pretty clear they don't want us interfering with their mission of getting Selene's necklace. But who are they?"

"I don't care who you are! You're not going to lay a hand on Selene or her necklace!" Sanji snapped. "I wont allow it!"

"It's not her necklace we want," an oddly familiar female voice said.

"What? Your voice sounds familiar. Who are…?" Sanji skidded to a stop and started at the two ninjas.

"It's been a while. Hasn't it, Sanji?" the woman said while pulling off her mask. Her long white hair flowed down over her shoulders, her sky blue eyes shimmering in the light.

"What?! Selene?! What are you doing there?!" Luffy asked. "You're a ninja?! How did you get changed so fast?!"

"Don't be stupid!" Usopp shouted. "That's not Selene!"

"Indeed." The other ninja pulled his mask off revealing the same hair, cut short, and eyes.

"What?! Now Selene's a man?!" Luffy asked.

"Stop being so stupid!" Usopp, Zoro, Nami, Chopper, and Franky shouted.

"No, neither of us are Selene," the man said. "We are related though."

"They're triplets," Sanji said pulling his cigarette from his mouth.

"So you knew about them?" Robin asked.

"Of course I did," Sanji said. "They came to the Baratie with Selene. So it's also been a while since I've seen them. The woman is called Sierra. And the man's name is Sage."

"You could have told us they were ninjas!" Usopp said.

"That was one thing I didn't know about them," Sanji said. "Let my friends go. I know you don't really want to hurt us."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Sierra said.

"We have our reasons," Sage said. "And they are none of your business. You've already delayed us enough in our mission of retrieving our sister."

"I don't care what you're reasons are," Sanji said. "It's clear that Selene doesn't want to return home to you. I'm not going to let you take her."

"You have no say in the matter, Sanji," Sierra said.

"I do," Sanji said. "She's my friend. And I promised her we would take her to see the rainbow tear."

"Sanji, she's dying," Sierra said.

"What?" Sanji's heart raced. There was no way that could possibly be true. "You're…you're lying."

"We're not," Sierra said.

"You're lying!" Sanji swiped his hand through the air. "She would have told me if she was!"

"Sanji, listen to us," Sage said.

"No!" Sanji said.

"They're not lying," Chopper said.

"What?" Sanji looked down at the reindeer.

"I noticed the symptoms a few days ago," Chopper said. "I know you've noticed them as well. She's tired a lot. Her bones always hurt her. She sweats a lot, especially at night. And those red dots you've seen on her face is a symptom as well."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Sanji grabbed Chopper, pulling the doctor to his face.

"I couldn't. She made me promise." Tears came to his eyes. "I wanted to. I told her if she got worse I was going to tell you."

"That's no excuse! I had a right to know!" Sanji said.

"Sanji, this isn't Chopper's fault," Nami said. "Stop blaming him."

"I know." Sanji sighed and dropped Chopper back to the ground.

"What's wrong with her?" Brook asked.

"She has leukemia," Chopper said fixing his hat. "It's a cancer of the blood. And there's no cure for it. So she's going to die. Probably soon."

The Straw Hats gasped.

"What?!" Luffy said.

"I guess that would explain why she was so resistant on staying on the ship," Robin said.

"Yeah." Nami nodded. "It makes sense now."

"But she's always so happy," Brook said.

"She was faking it," Franky said. "She has to be so sad right now."

"That's why we're trying to get her back home," Sage said. "She's sick and needs to be taken care of. Our parents are really worried about her. So we came out to find her."

"We thank you for taking care of her up until now," Sierra said. "But it's over. We're capturing her and taking her home."

"No," Sanji said.

"Sanji?" Nami said.

"You're not taking her," Sanji said. "She has a dream. And she's going to fulfill that dream."

"She can't do that. Don't you understand? She's _dying_ ," Sierra said.

"No! Can't you understand?! This is a dream of hers!" Sanji screamed. "And this is her only chance to achieve that dream! I won't let anyone interfere with that!"

"Sorry. But we can't let you interfere with our mission," Sage said. "We promised our parents we would bring her home."

"You're not taking her!" Sanji lifted his leg, ready to fight. "And I'll take you all down to make that happen!"

"Just hold on," Zoro said. "I hate to admit it but the cook has a point. This is Selene's life. And if she doesn't want to waste it behind some walls then she has the right to chose that."

"She's not thinking clearly," Sierra said.

"No, you're not thinking clearly," Sanji said putting his leg down. "Think about her. This is the only chance when she can do something she really wants to do."

"You're only saying that because you're in love with her," Sage said.

"Wh-what? I am not!" Sanji said his cheeks flushed.

"You've been that way for many years," Sage said. "Both you and Selene have had feelings for each other. You two were just too dumb to do anything about it." He nodded. The ninjas moved their kunai closer to the pirates' necks.

"No! Don't kill me!" Usopp said.

"We don't want to hurt you," Sierra said.

"But we will to get our sister back," Sage said.

"No, don't hurt my crew," Sanji said. "I'll bring her back for you."

"Sanji! You can't! They'll take her home! She'll never get to reach her dream!" Luffy said.

"I won't let them take her home. I'm only bring her back so you'll be freed," Sanji said turning from them all. "And so they can talk. Once they see how much this means to Selene they won't take her home."

"You can't be-" Sierra started.

"Fine," Sage said cutting his sister off. "For now your friends are safe. If you can bring her back then we'll release your friends."

Sanji nodded. "Chopper, can you pick up her scent?"

Chopper sniffed the air. "Yeah. She went that way. Through the forest."

"Right. I promise I'll bring her back." Sanji ran towards the forest.

"Will he be able to find her?" Sierra asked.

"Sanji will be fine," Nami said.

"Yeah. Sanji won't let Selene get away," Luffy said.

"Most likely she hasn't gotten very far," Chopper said.

"You don't know our sister," Sage said. "She's a ninja too. One of the best in our clan."

"What?!" the Straw Hats screamed. "Selene's a ninja too?!"

"Of course," Sage said. "Just about everyone in our family is. Though not many know about it outside of our family."

"Does Sanji know?" Nami asked.

"It's possible that he figured it out. Selene was all the time sneaking around the Baratie," Sage said. "Though we're forbidden to admit it to anyone."

…

Selene huffed. Her body screamed in pain, begging her to stop, as she pushed through the bushes around her. She knew she should go back and help her friends. But how could she? If she went back her siblings wouldn't let her go. Summoning her devil fruit power, she shifted into her dove form. Taking off was the right decision. Sanji was with the Straw Hats. Her siblings knew they were friends. They wouldn't do anything to hurt him. She flapped her wings, lifting off the ground a few feet. Pain shot through her body. She clasped to the ground. Slowly the pain started to subside but wouldn't leave completely. Footsteps came near her. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as he knelt down beside her. His smoke and scent filled her nose. She exhaled slowly, wishing he would go away and leave her alone.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked.

"I couldn't," Selene said. Tears forced out of her closed eyelids.

"Why?"

"Because…" Selene trembled. "Because I…"

"Selene, you don't have…you didn't have to be afraid of telling me." Sanji placed his hands on her and helped her sit up.

Selene winced.

"Sorry," Sanji said.

"It's not your fault," Selene said. "I'm the one who's…"

"I know. They told us," Sanji said.

"I'm sorry," Selene said avoiding his eyes. "I wanted to tell you but I was too afraid."

Sanji sighed.

"You hate me," Selene said.

"Don't be stupid," Sanji said. "I could never hate you. In fact I…" He tilted her chin and pressed his lips to hers.

Selene's eyes widened. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Sanji was actually kissing her. His breath was tainted with smoke but she didn't care. Closing her eyes, she kissed him back. Reaching up she snaked her hand around his neck before fiddling with his hair. He pulled away first. Their breaths mixed together. "Sanji."

"We have to go back," Sanji whispered. "You have to talk to them."

Sighing, she said, "Okay."

"I won't let them take you back home. Not until you've reached your goal," Sanji said standing up with her in his arms. "I promise. They won't take you away. You just rest and trust me."

"Thank you." Selene rested her head on his shoulder. "Sanji."

Sanji turned and headed back to where their friends were. He walked slow and steady. Mostly it was to keep from hurting her, but also because he didn't want her getting to her family too soon. Still they got there to quickly for his taste anyway. Stepping out of the woods, he paused and knitted his eyebrows. The ninjas gave back their weapons and moved away from the pirates.

"I thought I was going to die," Usopp said falling forward against his hands.

"Selene!" Chopper ran over to her and Sanji. "Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?"  
"My body does hurt but I'm fine," Selene said.

"We should get you back to the Sunny," Chopper said. "You need to lye down."

"Yeah." Selene nodded.

"You're not going anywhere until we talk," Sage said with a snap of his fingers. The ninjas responded and surrounded the pirates.

"Enough," Selene said. "If you hurt my friends I'll never forgive you."

"Selene," Sage said. "We're only doing this for you. You need to come home."

"I need to go through with this," Selene said. "I've spent enough time being locked up in that house, Sage. There's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

"What about our parents? They're worried about you," Sage said.

"They'll always worry until I die. It's what parents do," Selene said. "If you insist on trying to force me back home then I will fight you myself."

"Selene," Sanji said.

"It's fine," Selene said. "Even like I am now I can still fight them. And I will win."

"Of course you'll win." Luffy punched his palm. "And we'll back you up."

"Sage. Sierra." Selene looked at them both. "How could you of all people not know how much this means to me? This is something I've always wanted to do. And this is the only chance I'll be able to do it. You two will keep on living. You two will keep chasing your dreams. Mine are ending soon. Please. I don't want to fight you."

Sierra and Sage looked at each other. Several minutes past before they finally turned back to the other. Sage said, "All right. But we are coming with you. No arguing."

"That's up to the captain to decide," Selene said. "It's his ship and crew."

"What do you say, Luffy?" Sanji asked.

"Sure." Luffy nodded. "It's fine with me."

"What about them?" Nami looked at the ninjas.

"They'll follow us on our ship," Sage said.

"Then let's set sail!" Luffy cheered.

"Let's get Selene back to the ship," Chopper said. "She needs to rest now."

"Right." Sanji nodded.

The two groups headed for the harbor. Loading up on their ships they headed out to sea once more. While the rest of the crew dealt with the ship, Sanji carried Selene back to Chopper's office.

"Lay her down," Chopper said.

"Here you go." Sanji laid her down and stood back up.

"Let me check you over then I'll let you sleep," Chopper said.

Selene nodded. Her eyes remained on Sanji while Chopper gave her a quick check up. Before long the little doctor rushed out of the room. She said, "You don't have to stay with me."

"Well, I am." Sanji sat down on the bed. "So deal with it."

Selene sat up. Cupping his face, she pulled him towards her. "I notice that you haven't lit up another cigarette yet."

"I'm not going to do that," Sanji said.

"Why? You love those things," Selene said.

"And their bad for you to be around," Sanji said. "So from now on I'm not going to smoke."

Selene's heart raced. He was serious. He wasn't going to lit up another cigarette, at least while she was still on the crew. Smiling she pulled him closer to her. "Good."

Sanji closed his eyes before she pressed her lips to his.

Selene slipped her tongue through his lips, tasting every inch of his smoky mouth before pulling back for some fresh air. "Lay with me."

Sanji nodded. He waited for her to lay down before laying down beside her. While she slept he ran his fingers through her hair, thinking about all the time he wasted in not telling her how he felt sooner.

A couple hours later Selene woke to find Sanji still watching her. "Don't tell me you were watching me this whole time."

"Of course I was," Sanji said. "How could I not watch the most beautiful woman in the world sleep?"

Selene flushed. "You're such a flirt."

"Sorry I haven't flirted with you more," Sanji said. "I'm not sure why I flirted with all those other women so much."

"I think maybe you couldn't handle how you really felt about me," Selene said. "So you hide it by flirting with every woman you saw. And I just clammed up."

"You think so?" Sanji asked.

"It's possible," Selene said.

"Well, my flirting is only for you from now on," Sanji said.

"You're so sweet," Selene said. "But you will flirt with other women soon enough when I'm gone."

"Don't talk like," Sanji said.

"It's the truth," Selene said. "And I want you to know that I want you to find someone that you really love and be happy with her."

Sanji gritted his teeth.

"Promise me, Sanji," Selene said cupping his face. "Promise me that if you find someone you'll give her a chance."

Sanji sighed. "Okay, Selene. I promise I'll give her a chance, but that's it."

Selene nodded. "Good enough."

"Are you hungry?" Sanji asked.

"A little bit," Selene said. "And I'm coming with you."

"You should stay here and rest," Sanji said.

"Sanji." Selene frowned. "Don't start acting like my parents now. I feel a lot better after napping. Either I come with you or you'll have to physically force me to stay here."

"Okay, okay." Sanji stood up and offered her his hand. "Just stay with me then. If you get tired I'll bring you right back here."

"Deal." Selene nodded. Taking his hand she stood up and left with him.

"Ah! Come on! Just show me some of your techniques!" Luffy said as they drew closer to the deck.

"No! Now leave us alone!" Sage said.

Reaching the deck they found Luffy was chasing Sage and Sierra around the Sunny.

"What's wrong with you?!" Sierra asked.

"Looks like your siblings have finally seen how Luffy really is," Sanji said.

"Yeah." Selene nodded. "Let's let him bother them for a while. Consider it revenge for trying to force me back home."

"Sounds good to me." Sanji smiled and led her to the kitchen before anyone noticed they were there. Inside he led her to the bar then started cooking.

She sat quietly watching him and listening to the ruckus outside.

…

"Land! I see land!" Luffy called from the figurehead.

"Really?" Usopp asked as he, Chopper, and Nami ran up to the helm.

"Yeah! There it is!" Luffy pointed to the island. "It that the place we're looking for?"

Selene reached into her shirt and pulled out her necklace. The tear was glowing. A beam shot out to the island. "Yeah, that's it."

"It looks like any other island we've see so far," Franky said. "You sure this is the place?"

"It is." Selene nodded. "The temple we're looking for will be underground. All we have to do now is find the door."

"What does the door look like?" Brook asked.

"I'm not sure," Selene said.

"The door is suppose to be hidden," Sierra said. "It's not supposed to be easy to find."

"The legend says that the door should be somewhere in the middle of the island," Sage said.

"Then let's get going!" Luffy shouted before jumped onto the island.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Usopp shouted.

Franky tossed the rope ladder over the side. They all descended down the ladder and started heading inland.

"Are we there yet?" Luffy said. "It feels like we have been walking for hours."

"We have been walking for hours, you idiot," Nami said.

"We should be getting close," Sierra said.

"How are you doing, Selene?" Sanji asked.

"A little tired," Selene said.

"Hop on." Sanji knelt down in front of her. "I'll carry you. And no arguing."

"I wouldn't think of it." Selene smiled and hopped onto his back. With her secure in place they started walking again. Finally, after another hour they reached the center of the island. And found nothing.

"What the heck?" Usopp asked.

"It's just an open field," Zoro said.

"So the door's not here then?" Chopper asked.

"It's here," Selene said. "If we can't see it then it's hiding in plan sight."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Nami asked.

"The door must be in the ground," Robin said. "Let's spread out and look."

They went in different directions, moving the grass around in search of the door.

"Hey! I think I found something!" Brook waved. Everyone rushed over to find he found a button. "Shall I press it?"

"Yes." Selene nodded.

Brook pressed it. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Then the ground started shaking.

"What's going on?!" Usopp asked.

"We're all going to die!" Chopper ran around.

Part of the ground shifted. It lifted up, revealing a set of stairs. The group went down them. Tears, identical to the one Selene wore lit up on the walls as they went down.

"Wow. They're so pretty," Nami said. "I wonder who put them there."

They reached the end of the stairs and found themselves staring at a maze. With a glance at each other they started through the maze.

"You stay between us," Nami said to the swordsman.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Zoro asked.

"Just stay between us," Usopp said.

They continued walking through the maze.

"Geez," Usopp said looking at all the spider webs and cobwebs on the wall and the spiders that inhabited them. "This place is extremely creepy. Why would anyone put a maze down here?"

"It's like a back gorge," Robin said looking at some human remains. "I wonder how many people have died in here."

"Don't talk like that!" Usopp shouted.

"This is so boring," Luffy said before jumping up on the wall.

"What are you doing up there?" Sage asked.

"He's being Luffy," Sanji said.

"Hey! I can see the way out!" Luffy said. "Let's just jump to it!"

"Might as well," Zoro said. He jumped up onto the wall with the others soon following. They all jumped to the exit and entered into a large square room.

"Nothing's here," Franky said looking around.

"We thought that same thing about the door," Brook said.

"This is it," Selene said. "We just have to figure out how to get light in here."

Robin walked away from the group. She ran her hand over the wall until she found a spot that felt different. She pushed it. A beam of light suddenly shone in through a hole in the ceiling. "Interesting."

"How is that possible?! We have to be at least a mile under the ground," Usopp said.

Selene released herself from Sanji. Pulling her necklace off she walked over to the light and dangled the gem in front of it. A rainbow beam shot out and over the back wall. An ancient text lit up.

"Amazing!" Nami said. "Can anyone read it? Robin."

"I'm not familiar with this writing," Robin said running her eyes over the text.

"It says to take the orb and placed it on your ship," Sage said. "The orb will take you to your destination."

"Orb?" Brook asked before a secret door opened up in the middle of the text. Inside was a rainbow shining orb. "I guess that's it?"

Luffy grabbed it. "So let's get back to the ship then."

Once back at the ship, Luffy placed the orb down on the deck. It shifted like liquid before washing over the ship. Then, without warning, the ship started moving on it's own. "Yeah! We're moving!"

"And now we wait until we arrive at the mountain," Selene said.

…

Selene stared up at the ceiling, her mind spinning all over the place. Any time now they would be arriving at their destination. Any time now her body would finally give out on her. With sigh she sat up and carefully crawled off the bed so not to disturb Sanji. Sitting down at Chopper's deck she pulled out a blank piece of paper and started writing on it.

…

"Hey! The other ship is falling behind!" Usopp shouted. "How is that possible?"

"It's because of the winds around this part of the world. With the orb around us it doesn't affect this ship," Sage said. "I'm sure Selene told you of the story."

"Luffy! Toss this back to them!" Franky tossed Luffy a rope with a hook on the end.

"Got it!" Luffy grabbed it and ran to the back of the ship. He threw it to the other ship. The hook latched onto the ship and it kept pace with them.

"You didn't have to do that," Sierra said. "They would have just dropped anchor and waited for us."

"They can wait on the island," Luffy said.

"There it is," Selene said as she looked at the tall mountain in the distance.

"It's not as big as I thought it would be," Usopp said.

"Most of it has been worn away by the winds," Selene said. "Most likely this place won't be here in another few hundred years."

They pulled up to the island and dropped anchor then climbed off the ship. A huge gust of wind rushed by, knocking them all over.

"Dang! That wind is super strong!" Franky said. "How are we going to get up there?"

"This is so much fun!" Luffy stood back up and let the wind push him backwards.

"Ah! I'm going to get blow away!" Brook screamed his body went flying through the air.

"You're pathetic." Zoro grabbed the skeleton and slammed him to the ground. "Get back on the ship if you don't want to blow away."

"Thank you," Brook said. "I'll consider that."

"Franky, can you building something that will help us?" Nami asked as the wind died down.

"I'm not sure," Franky said. "I wouldn't even know where to start. That path up the mountain looks very narrow."

"Why can't we just use the orb?" Robin asked.

"It only works on ships," Selene said.

"Then how do we get up there?" Nami asked.

"One step at a time," Selene said heading for the mountain while the wind was slower. Inch by inch they made their way to the base of the mountain. She dropped to her knees, her whole body was one big spasm of pain.

"Selene, get on my back," Sanji said.

"Okay." Selene nodded and got on him again.

"This is so stupid!" Sage said over the howling winds.

"Keep going!" Selene said.

"Hey!" Luffy threw out his fits and grabbed hold of a boulder then held out his hand for everyone else. "Grab onto me! I'll pull us up there when the wind dies down again!"

Everyone grabbed onto each other and Luffy. The pirate captain waited until the wind died down before flinging them all forwards. It didn't work as well as he'd hoped. The wind was still too strong and some lost their grip. Luffy, Sanji, and Selene were the only ones to make it to the boulder. They waited several minutes for their group to catch up. Once again they started inching up the mountain path.

A gale knocked Usopp off his feet. He went flying backwards until Frank grabbed him and placed him back on the ground. "Thank you. I thought I was going to die."

"No problem, brother," Frank said.

Finally, after hours of fighting the wind they reached the top. The wind immediately stopped. Nami said, "This place is so weird. The wind blows everywhere but the top of this mountain?"

"Hey, it's starting to get cloudy," Luffy said.

"It's starting then," Selene said getting down from Sanji. Her body collapsed. She panted for air as her fever spike.

"Selene, you're burning up." Sanji placed his hand on her forehead. "You should have said something."

"It doesn't matter," Selene said. "We're here now. Just watch."

Sanji sat down behind her so she could lean against him.

The group turned their eyes up to the sky. They watched as the clouds and colors swirled together.

"What happening?!" Chopper asked.

The sun shone brightly, hitting the clouds. It started raining. Drops and drops of rain fell down upon them before changing into the same exact tear Selene wore. Multiple rainbows casted over the ground and their bodies. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper ran around the mountain, cheering happily.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Nami said.

"Amazing," Robin said.

"It is. Selene, you did it. You finally can see it," Sanji said. When she didn't answer he looked down. Her eyes were closed. "Selene? Selene?!"

Everyone stopped and looked over at them.

"Selene, please!" Sanji begged. "Open your eyes!"

She didn't.

"Oh my gosh!" Chopper rushed over and checked her pulse.

"Is she okay, Chopper?" Luffy asked.

Chopper's head dropped. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Luffy said. "She has to be okay! We're finally here!"

"Please, Straw Hat," Sage said.

Luffy looked at him and Sierra, both were crying.

"She's gone," Sierra said before dropping to the ground. "She's gone."

"No." Nami covered her mouth.

"Did she…did she at least get to see it?" Usopp asked.

No one answered.

Sanji hugged her to his chest. He whispered, "I'm so sorry, Selene. I'm so sorry."

…

"Thank you," Sage said from their ship. He and Sierra looked over at the Straw Hats, only Sanji was missing. When they had gotten back to their ships, he went to the men's quarters while mumbling he wanted to be left alone. "Thank you for taking care of her."

"We are in your debt," Sierra said.

"No." Luffy shook his head. "We wanted to do this."

"Take good care of her now," Chopper said.

"We will," Sage said. "We're going to take her back home where she can have a proper burial."

"We would like to stay longer, but we really need to get going," Sierra said.

The Straw Hats waved as their new friends sailed way from them. Once they were out of sight they scattered about their own ship, unsure about what they were suppose to do now.

"Is Sanji going to be okay?" Chopper asked.

"He'll be fine," Nami said. "He just needs some time. We should give him his space for now."

"Okay." Chopper nodded and headed off for his office. Sighing, he sat down at his desk. "Huh? What's this?"

Chopper noticed some that didn't belong on his desk. It was placed between a couple books. Pulling it out he looked at it. It had Sanji's name on it. Rushing from his room he ran to the men's quarters. Sanji was still lying in his bed. "Uh, Sanji?"

"I said I wanted to be left alone," Sanji said.

"I know that," Chopper said. "But I found something in my office. It's got your name on it. I think it's from Selene."

"Selene?" Sanji jumped off the bed and snatched the letter from the doctor. He opened it. Tears gathered in his eyes to find Selene's necklace inside of it. He looked at the letter.

 _Sanji,_

 _I know you're really hurting right now. And it's okay. You'll get over me before you know it. It'll take time but it will happen. Just keep living. I know I probably should have given you this in person, but I couldn't do it. I would have become such a blubbering mess. I want you to keep my necklace. And I want you to keep my flute. I already put that in your locker. I'm sure you'll find it at some point. Keep living and reach your dream. I'll be watching over you from now on. So try not to get into so much trouble._

 _P.S. I always have and always will love you._

 _See you again,_

 _Selene_

Tears poured down his face. Walking over to his locker he opened it, finding her flute right there. He picked it up. Holding the precious items to his chest, he dropped to the floor and cried.


End file.
